Wouldn't You like to, Renji?
by MoonLitPride
Summary: There's definetly something in the already complicated relationship of Abarai Renji & Kuchiki Byakuya. Who and what will it take for cold and stubborn walls to break? Maybe an increasingly open, ungaurded Byakuya? A casual, provocative sentence from Byakuya sets into motion a series of interesting events. Rated M for a reason...
1. How it started starting

Set after the Zanpakutou arc

Spoilers: Contains some spoilers for the Soul Society and the Zanpakutou Arc

Pairing: ByaRen, implied IchiRuki

Rating: M

Summary: There's definetly something in the already complicated relationship of Abarai Renji & Kuchiki Byakuya. Who and what will it take for cold and stubborn walls to break? Maybe an increasingly open, ungaurded Byakuya?

Disclaimer: Yeah Surre! Trust me, if i owned Bleach, I would marry Byakuya right away! But no, since I cant, I dont own Bleach. Belongs to Kube Tite and whoever else has the Copyright!

...

(Renji's POV)

It was one of those typical days in Sereitei. Abarai Renji knew exactly how this day would end - in embarrassment. The reason? He had a training session scheduled with the infamous Captain of his Squad, none other than Kuchiki Byakuya.

"_**Why do I have to fight him anyway...it's not like I can't improve on my own..."**_He mumbled as he made his way to the area cleared for the very purpose. Generally he was very upbeat about these sessions – he craved for every chance to pit his strength against his Captain's.

He blamed it all on that one day. The day when his Captain was lying in bed, recuperating. After the whole mess with Rukia and Aizen and his battle with Byakuya and then Byakuya's with Ichigo...after all that, when everything had been cleared and he had visited his captain.

It was then that Renji had finally admitted to himself that he didn't just want to excel Byakuya or become stronger than him. He had long stopped considering him as only the man he had to be stronger than. He had started respecting his Captain and caring for him, just like he did for everyone else in his squad.

Somewhere along the line, they had become friends – as much as a brash vice-captain and a quiet, cold Captain could be.

Byakuya had asked him whether he wished him to be dead. Renji, shocked and unnerved, had answered without a pause. "No"

It was an unspoken agreement between them: he had forgiven his Captain and his captain had forgiven him. Then he had wanted to say something and Ichigo had come bursting in...

There, that was the beginning of it all. Renji could never remember what he had wanted to say to his Taichou and it was a constant bother on his mind. But a lot had passed since then. They had fought many battles and they had fought side-by-side and everything was as normal as it could be.

During office-time they both sat in the Room, going through paperwork:

Byakuya moving his hand gracefully over the parchments; Renji nearly tearing them in his frustration.

Byakuya leaning back slightly in his chair, sipping tea almost soundlessly during the break; Renji sprawled, literally all over the place, sometimes asleep

Byakuya getting up slowly, day's work over, sweeping out of the door; Renji rushing past him, eager to get out, all semblance of formality discarded

Everything was as normal as it could be. Or so it seemed on the surface.

Beneath all that, Renji knew something had changed and further complicated the relationship he had with his Taichou, at least for him. Byakuya was impossible to read at most times but Renji hadn't been his Vice-Captain for so many, many years without learning something about him. More like: lot of things. He could read the subtle mood changes and emotions in the reserved 6th Squad Captain better than anyone else.  
Renji, however, didn't know why his Captain always picked on his rashness, his impulsive nature and his general attitude. He knew it wasn't because the Captain felt that sort of character was demeaning and easy to target. It wasn't even because he got on Byakuya's nerves most of the time.

"_**What do you really expect out of me, Byakuya?" **_Renji thought, his brows furrowing. _**"What do I mean to you, apart from your exasperating, brash Fuku-taichou?"**_

There were so many clashes and differences in opinions between them. But Renji always felt that his Captain wanted to say something to him, but instead made to do with an extra scowl and a majestic sweep of his Haori as he walked away.

"_**I know it won't be..."**_Renji couldn't bring himself to think it. _**"...I know...but I need to know..that at the most, you consider me your equal..."**_

Renji had been so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn't realise he was already at the Training Grounds. He sighed, knowing this would be a long battle. He was, however, soon to be proved wrong...

Byakuya was already there and so were the rest of the Squad members.

"Your late" Byakuya stated, staring at him with his cool, cold grey eyes

"Sorry about that, Taichou...I..." He was cut off as Byakuya lunged at him without any warning, Zanpakutou drawn. Renji's cry of surprise was swallowed in the clash of their swords: he had managed to draw Zabimaru just in time. His eyes narrowed at Byakuya, whose expression remained unchanged as he pulled away, lightly landing metres away from Renji.

Renji knew there wouldn't be any point in talking. The fight had started. Byakuya and Renji occupied the centre of the Grounds while the rest of the squad had moved to the sides, almost in a wide circle around them. They were howling and cheering the Captain and the Vice-Captain.

Byakuya came at him again, slashing to Renji's right.

Renji shunpo-ed to the left, dodging Senbonzakura and cutting a wide arc with Zabimaru. Byakuya dodged easily and they both landed on the ground. Without pausing, Renji rushed at Byakuya again...

"Watch out Taichou...This is gonna hurt..."

He could almost hear the un-uttered snort as Byakuya casually side-stepped his attack and even more casually flicked his finger. Renji was expecting it and he leapt into the air, dodging the blades and using his sword to block the last few. He was pushed back by the force of it. When it stopped, he swung Zabimaru onto his shoulder and started laughing..."Ha...I can see through that move, Taichou..."

He didn't get to finish as a single blade floated past him. His eyes widened in shock, but he couldn't react quickly enough after letting his guard down. There were two noiseless movements and he was thrown to the ground. He managed to finish on his feet though, panting harshly. A small cut appeared on his cheek and his hair had come undone. The ribbons floated to his feet, cut into little pieces

"Pay attention Abarai...that could have been your head"

"I was talking to ya...!" Renji fumed

"A most clever move in the middle of a battle...But then it's what I would expect of my fuku-taichou..." Byakuya said smoothly, not bothering to hide the smug expression on his face

"Fuck you!" Renji growled under his breath

In an instant Byakuya was next to him, moving past him...

"Wouldn't you like to...?" he muttered, close to Renji's ear. Renji's eyes widened in shock and though he managed to block Byakuya's sword with his own, he couldn't hold his concentration to save his life. His sword flew from his hand and Byakuya's Zanpakutou was pointed at his chest. Byakuya was smirking as he sheathed his sword and stepped back a few spaces from Renji.

"So easily distracted and provoked...Abarai Renji"

"...You...THAT WAS LOW, BYAKUYA!" Renji spat at him.

He was angry at having lost focus for the crucial split-second. He was fuming at the way Byakuya was smirking, the small smile on his proud, sharp face making him look more sarcastic than even his words were. But most of all, he hated the way he knew he was blushing. He hated the way his breath had hitched when Byakuya had suddenly moved so close to him. Renji flushed deeper: he didn't even want to think about what Byakuya had said, even though he knew perfectly well that his Captain had purposely responded in that manner. A constant bone of contention between the Captain and Renji was Renji's hot temper and easily provoked nature, something Byakuya never missed an opportunity to hint at.

"Today's session is done." Byakuya said, turning to leave "Work on your reflexes and on your temper, Abarai...I will not tolerate a blundering moron who loses his cool at even the slightest provocation in my Squad"

Renji clenched his fingers, almost growling at his Captain's already retreating figure. **"**_**Curse him...CURSE HIM! Smug Bastard..."**_ Renji was literally shaking but suddenly he realised that he was still in the middle of the training grounds and that the rest of the squad were all watching him, some of them still cheering him on.

He straightened and flash-stepped out of the place. He didn't stop till he was quite a distance from the grounds. He couldn't get Byakuya's face out of his mind. The smooth face and the soft voice in which he had said those words

Words that would have been of no consequence if only Renji didn't feel what he felt, what he had been feeling for a long time now...

"_**It's almost as if he knew..."**_ Renji thought. Then he shook his head, snorting at the thought. No, Byakuya didn't know and Byakuya would forget the training session and the words he had said by the next morning.

"_**Byakuya should NEVER know..."**_

It was not that it would be disapproved of or considered dirty. Soul Society with all of its rules and stipulations was still a whacked out place and male couples weren't exactly unpopular. A soul could be drawn to another, irrespective of differences and similarities. He smiled wryly as he thought about Ikkaku and Yumichika. Yumichika had once even convinced Ikkaku to enter a "The best Couple" contest. They had won and he had later caught Rangiku smiling insanely over a list of other contests.

"_**...and neither should Rangiku..."**_ He laughed as he pictured her dragging him off to take part in some super-secret plan to win Byakuya over. Then the moment was lost and his shoulders slumped.

"_**God, what a mess..."**_

...

Authur's Note:

So? I have the next two chapters ready, just want to see whether it works...*hehe*...Pls review and tell me how's it's going. Flames accepted too!

Moonlitpride


	2. A most unusual day and a smooth liar

**Hi all! Here's the next chapter. It's long and I needed it, before the...ahem...story could progress in the direction we all want it too! *grins***

**I must say though, you guys, THANKS for the reviews! Seriously, I have such a big smile on my face, my jaw hurts and people are looking at me weirdly. (Smile's still there though!) Keep 'em coming, It's my oxygen! :D**

**Disclaimer:**** I just married Byakuya...and Ichigo! (Wait, maybe I should add Ukitake to that list...*get's cold water splashed on face, wakes up and falls off the chair*...urm...hehe...no, of course I don't own Bleach...*Goes back to dreaming*  
Moonlitpride**

**...**

**Renji's POV:**

The next day dawned bright and beautiful. Of course, that didn't necessarily mean that everyone would be feeling all bright and cheery. Especially not a certain red-headed Fuku-Taichou and his ever graceful Captain...

Renji waking up bad-tempered and scowling wasn't an unheard of phenomenon. That was usually his mood in the mornings, especially on the week-beginnings. Like everyone else, he _loathed_ paperwork. Unlike everyone else, he never missed a chance to grumble about it.

Also, the result of the previous day's match wasn't exactly very cheer-inspiring. And try as he might, he couldn't get _a particular_ part of it out of his head.

And so, he made his way to the 6th Squad office with such a big rain-cloud hovering above his head that the rest of the squad members steered clear of him, not even daring to greet him, as he passed them in the long corridors.

His scowl deepened and threatened to consume his entire face when he arrived at the office. He pushed the door open, not caring to knock, knowing he was going to earn Byakuya's disapproval.

No such thing happened for Byakuya wasn't in the office. Renji was quite shocked. His Taichou was always the first one to arrive and would be seated at his desk by now, browsing through the day's duties and paperwork.

The day's list of duties and paperwork was on Byakuya's table. Renji wondered, not entirely unconcernedly, where his Taichou was. It was a normal day and there hadn't been any disturbances in Soul Society of late to warrant unexpected absences.

Still, knowing that the first thing he should do is at least give a cursory glance at the paperwork and documents to be signed, Renji picked them up from his Taichou's desk and placed them on his own. He quickly went through them, deducted that there wasn't anything that required immediate attention and signed the duties for the day. He then called for the attendant squad member and handed the tasks over to him.

When he returned to his table, Renji realised that he had actually _done_ office work. Somehow Byakuya's absence had made him do it..._"__**A sense of responsibility...or maybe because I don't want to let down the 6**__**th**__** Squad and Byakuya when the Captain's not there...even for something as small as this..."**_

He thought about completing the long-due Squad Training Progress report but then snorted, knowing he wouldn't be completing it anytime soon...

"_**Where is Byakuya...?"**_

Just as he was about to try and find out, the office door was slammed open and Byakuya walked in. Renji immediately registered many things:

Byakuya had _slammed_ the door open

Byakuya had an expression on his face – not just any mild one, but one of such thorough annoyance and irritation that his brows were furrowed. Yep – visibly scowling

Byakuya _wasn't _wearing his Kenseiken. His long, pitch-black hair was free of the ornamental heirlooms that he was seldom seen without.

Renji realised that he was openly staring and he couldn't help it. Byakuya looked a vision. _**"Not now, Abarai..."**_Renji thought, though he continued staring, as much out of shock as out of admiration.

Byakuya didn't glide to his chair and neatly seat himself as usual either. He marched up to it, dragged his chair out with an almighty screech and plonked himself, very unceremoniously, onto it. Then he looked at Renji, who managed to close his mouth just in time.

"WHAT, Abarai!"

"..."

"Have you finally lost what little control you had over that body of yours and forgotten how to speak?"

That snapped Renji out of his shock-spell and he glared back at Byakuya. "Good Morning Taichou..."

"The world generally considers it appropriate to say _Good Afternoon_ once it is past 12pm – Surely this has not escaped your notice or is it that you do not know the difference between morning and afternoon..."

"Hold it there Taichou..." by now Renji would have been thoroughly pissed and giving some back to Byakuya, if it had been a normal day. However it wasn't a normal day and Renji was actually marvelling at how Byakuya looked at least a couple of decades younger with his hair loose and his face so expressive, without the usual unmoving mask.

Byakuya was hardly looking at him as he spoke, scowling at his desk now. He was sifting through the papers, obviously searching for something.

"Where are the Duty-list and Morning-Reports..." he grumbled

"Uh...Taichou, I have taken care of that..."

"...What is this insufferable squad coming to if a Captain cannot find the reports on his desk when he arrives..."

"That's because I took them and finished them too..."

"And _where_ is the letter to the 4th Squad about remedies for seasonal flu..."

"I HAVE COMPLETED AND SUBMITTED THEM, ASSHOLE!" Renji yelled, standing up and slamming his fist on his table

That seemed to bring Byakuya back to his senses. He stared at Renji, flushing slightly, opened his mouth to say something and then closed it. He tore his gaze away and started going through the remaining papers on his desk.

Renji sat down again, heart pounding and head reeling slightly. He wondered when Byakuya would realise that he had called him an 'asshole' and stole a quick look at the door. It was open halfway – maybe he could shun-po fast enough. He'd, of course, have to move a second before Byakuya would calmly say "_Scatter..."_

But nothing like that happened and after about 15 minutes of waiting, Renji decided that he had better start on his paperwork. It was a particularly nasty pile and had issues dated to even a month ago. Thinking that it wouldn't be advisable to irk Byakuya when he was in such an unpredictable mood, Renji pulled out a paper from the pile and with a groan, set to going through it.

It was quite a while before he looked up again and to his surprise the shadows outside the window had lengthened considerably. Byakuya was at his desk and Renji gave a start as he looked at him. He was writing something and looked perfectly normal, scowl gone and face as smooth and inexpressive as ever. He looked up at Renji

"You have been at your work for quite a while, Abarai Fukutaichou. It is past 4 already"

If Renji was a slightly weaker man, he'd have fallen off his chair. He knew some hours had passed since Byakuya had entered the Office in a foul mood. But he still couldn't understand how he was so normal all of a sudden. He had hardly registered what Byakuya was saying and continued staring at him for about a minute before what he had said registered.

"_It is past 4 already..."_

"Ah...Taichou, Shall I prepare Tea then...?"

Byakuya gave a small inclination of his head and went back to writing.

Renji prepared the tea with rising suspicion. He couldn't wrap his head around what had happened in the morning. He placed the Pot and the cups on a tray and walked back to the Office. Byakuya hadn't moved and still appeared as normal as ever.

Renji placed the pot on the side table. Poured out Byakuya's tea and placed it on his table. Then he took his own cup, filled it and went back to his place. All the while he was watching Byakuya out of the corner of his eye.

Byakuya picked the cup, sipped some tea, set it down and looked at Renji.

Renji couldn't take it anymore.

"You're feeling better now, Taichou?" He asked

Byakuya's expression remained unchanged. "I don't understand, Abarai..."

"I mean...you're all calm now..." Renji muttered

"You seem to imply that I wasn't earlier..." Byakuya said, closing his eyes and sipping the tea again.

"WHA...?" Renji wondered whether he'd woken up from sleep or was still dreaming after falling asleep the day before. Byakuya was smoothly denying his outburst in the morning and was acting so, so normal "You...You were all flustered just a few hours ago...Don't mess with me, you..."

"Abarai, I don't 'mess' with people. Now please finish your tea and get back to your work. You might as well break record and complete that pile today..." Byakuya put his cup down and stood up and without another word, swept out of the office.

Renji was left staring open-mouthed and angry at the door which Byakuya had closed behind him. It was Monday and Byakuya left after Tea on every alternate Monday to attend the Calligraphy Association meetings.

Renji's fists curled up into tight balls. He wasn't going to let his Taichou get away with this. He didn't know what it was, but something made him feel that he shouldn't let this go so easily. And he also wanted to see Byakuya lose his cool again..._and again..._Renji closed his eyes and sighed.

"_**I can't think like that..."**_ but he was. Somehow, in an odd way, he felt that he could be closer to Byakuya if Byakuya would lose that mask every now and then. That mask was a huge part of what distinguished him as the Noble that he was. Renji's brashness and often crude manners and behaviours were what distinguished him as the orphan, once low-life from Rukongai. _Anything for that gap to lessen, anything..._

"_**Not that I'm hoping for anything to happen..."**_ This time Renji groaned, not able to keep his frustration within him. He wondered what people would say if they knew exactly how much he craved for Byakuya's attention and respect...and then some more. He wondered what they would say if they knew how obsessed he was with him. He wondered what Byakuya would think if he knew...

...

**So? I know this is a big chapter and not 'much' happening either, but trust me, it'll get there! ;P**

**Really needed to have this before I could get them closer!**

**The next one will have Byakuya's POV...we have some explaining to do, right!**

**So, you know what I need, them golden, molten chocolates called reviews! hehe!**

**Moonlitpride**


	3. Byakuya's reasons, a slip and a Hat

**Hi...No, wait, don't kill me, yet...(urm..)...explanation at the end of chapter, read first, please!**

**Disclaimer:**** No, don't own Bleach...sadly enough...**

...

(Byakuya's POV)

Being distracted in the middle of a meeting wasn't something Byakuya usually accepted from anyone. Of course, he had years of practice at keeping a straight face no matter what his mental condition was so it didn't show.

And it wasn't like there were people around who knew him well enough to know that, right then, he didn't give a damn about the wooden handles of brushes imported from some foreign place.

Yeah, his favourite Calligraphy Association's meeting wasn't nearly as important as certain other things on his mind. Like what happened yesterday and today...

He knew he had done something surprisingly sneaky for his usually stoic character when he had responded in that manner to Renji's innocent, everyday expletive. That in itself was not what bothered Byakuya. What bothered him was the look he had seen in Renji's eyes: a mixture of shock, fear, anger and guilt. He understood the anger and the shock...

"_**But why would you be afraid or guilty, Abarai Fuku-taichou...Should I begin to assume?"**_

Of course, he hadn't dwelt on it that much immediately. He had gone about the day's duties and had returned to his Mansion at the usual time. He had had his dinner and had spent some time going through the papers for today's Meeting.

Here, Byakuya almost frowned as he remembered what had followed next. He had been about to turn in, dressed in his night-clothes, hair free of the Kenseiken, when he remembered about a new ink that had been delivered a week ago. He had wanted to try it out. The purpose was to discuss this in the Calligraphy Association meeting.

*_flashback*_

Byakuya was pleasantly surprised at the extra smoothness of the ink. It was a deep, rich royal blue and it flowed flawlessly from the tip of his brush. In fact, he was so taken by it that he didn't realise that he had been sitting at his work-place for almost an hour, in a state of semi-consciousness. His mind was peaceful and almost devoid of any thought and he was just writing mechanically, his experienced fingers dictating words automatically.

Of course, Byakuya was Byakuya and not even his favourite art form could keep him in such a stupor that he wouldn't realise it when he had written a person's name.  
With some shock, Byakuya paused in mid-stroke to see the graceful letters that shone on the paper:

_**ABARAI RENJI**_

He froze, eyes wide. WHAT was he thinking...no, he _wasn't _thinking...He looked at the innocent-looking ink bottle and realised that the ink must have some special, sinister properties.

He dipped the brush in the pot and gave a wide stroke, over the name he had written down. No, he wasn't thinking, because if he had been he would have realised that the ink was indeed something sinister. The ink glistened and started spreading around the name, as if he had painted over damp paper.

It happened so quick, Byakuya _couldn't _react quickly enough: the blue liquid seeped right through the paper and somehow growing in quantity, it stained through onto the rich wooden table. The sleeve-end of his loose, simple night-kimono got caught in the alarmingly increasing pool of blue ink and he swiftly drew away from the table, ripping his sleeve apart.

The torn shred fell to the floor, now completely blue.

Meanwhile, his desk was in ruins: his sudden movement had upset the papers and the other items on his desk. Half of them were already soaking in the blue ink.

Now, Kuchiki Byakuya had a place for everything. His work-clothes were neatly arranged in expensive, antique closets while his other dresses were in other casements, all separated according to occasion. All these were in an adjacent room.  
But a few things he kept in his bedroom: Accessories (as much as a man might need) were placed on a low table, right next to his futon. Here he put his comb, a bowl of clean water, a silk ribbon he rarely used and of course, his dear Kenseiken.

The level of the ink had risen so much, that Byakuya was walking in a pool of blue. He tried Kidou but immediately realised that it was futile. Byakuya seldom panicked. He didn't panic now either, but he still was in a state of slow, bemusement. His eyes scanned the room, as if in slow motion, and landed on the low-table. It was all but gone, floating on the ink. Byakuya shunpo-ed to it, grabbed his comb and his Kenseiken and shunpo-ed out the room. Once outside, he quickly tried another Kidou spell, this time to bind from outside. Miraculously, that seemed to do the trick and the treacherous ink, about to spill out from the door-threshold, stopped moving.

Byakuya immediately felt the daze lift. He blinked in surprise and then examined what he had managed to salvage. The comb was unharmed; it's smooth, off-white edges shone in the glow from the Kidou placed on the room. The Kenseiken, on the other hand, were completely blue.

*_flashback ends*_

Byakuya almost let out a soft sigh of frustration. He had spent the whole night trying to get the Kenseiken clean, trying everything from water to tea to the strongest of Kidou-spells. He had summoned the staff who cared for him in his Mansion, and he had made them all try out various methods to clean it. It had come to a point when he had all but started yelling and crying!  
Well, maybe not _that_...

When he had realised that he couldn't do anything about it, it was already way past office-time. Byakuya rounded up his staff, warned them from going anywhere close to the room, and his Kenseiken, which he had put in a case and stowed away. Of course, it went without mentioning that no-one would ever speak of the incident unless Byakuya said otherwise.

"...Ah, but its coarseness adds to the charm, ne Kuchiki Taichou?"

"Excessive coarseness makes him remarkably like a baboon..." Byakuya replied, a soft growl rumbling through him

"Eh? Taichou...we were talking about..."

But Byakuya mental capabilities, though prone to the occasional stumble, were fast to recover

"...like an animal with no other thought than food on the mind, and so _he_ who wields the tough brush should also be wary of its gentle nature."

"True!"

"Kuchiki Sama truly knows his Calligraphy..."

"You are always so helpful in ordering of fine quality brushes, Taichou. You never go wrong..."

Byakuya inclined his head politely, not a twitch on his face or a dot of colour change to indicate that he had _almost_ slipped on his calculated, cool reputation by _almost_ giving away that he was talking, and by extension thinking, not of calligraphy brushes but of a certain red-haired Fuku-taichou.

...

_Far, far away – almost in a different world:_

The Man stood out in a crowd, there was no way around the fact. You'd think it was his dress or his slightly short trousers, maybe even the hat.

The average person took a while to realise that it was his face – no one can look at a face that knows, and smiles with that knowledge, a knowledge you don't and can't ever have.

Currently that face, hat and all, was turned towards a peculiar, round instrument – almost like a glass football – perched on a table littered with God only knew what else.

A shadow moved past the door and a lithe body followed, quiet, catlike.

"You know you'll pay one day for all the interfering, don't you Urahara?"

Urahara jumped a foot away from the table, clutching at his heart.

"Hello, Yoruichi-San! You really shouldn't sneak up on people...bad for health..."

"Talking about being sneaky, what do you intend to achieve by your latest prank?" Yoruichi leaned against the doorway, a smile playing around her lips

"Come now, Yoruichi-San...that was no prank! How was I to know that the Thoughtful Ink of Persia was contaminated by some random segments of Marking Spirit?"

"Marking Spirit?" Yoruichi's eyes narrowed ever so slightly

"Well...yeah..." Urahara let out a nervous chuckle and shuffled his feet, trying to look guilty and regretful. Of course, he wasn't really trying hard, now, was he? "...It might also have had a few drops of Double Duplicate in it..."

Yoruichi's eyes widened. Last year, the Double Duplicate had caused so much of ruckus in North Karakura Town (Let's just say that 128 Giraffes running around loose wasn't a very natural, manageable phenomenon) that they had stopped selling it and destroyed every last bit of it...

"_**Well, not every last bit, apparently..."**_ She thought, looking at Urahara. The football started glowing behind him and following her gaze, he turned to it.

"Ah, Yoruichi-San, you might find this interesting..."

"Is that a football, Kisuke?"

"An Orb from Egypt...Have you been there...no, I know you haven't...we should go sometime...I heard they have excellent processes of preserving dead bodies, turning the soul into..."

"Dead bodies do not interest me..."

"They worship cats..."

"Hmm..." Yoruichi grinned at Urahara "Well, now that's something..." She walked towards him and peered at the Football-Orb-from-Egypt

"Kisuke, is that Byakuya?"

...

**So?**

**I know I have been a pig, a cow, a hollow, anything you can think of that is a strong enough abuse, for not updating for so long!  
(Exams, projects, internships, more exams, 2 cats and one virus-infected laptop are to share the blame...)**

**I also know this chapter does not have much Byakuya-Renji interaction, but it needed to be written. The next one (and I promise, I have vacation for a week, I'm already writing it) will be better!**

**Please review, love you!**

**Moonlitpride**


	4. Sleepless in Sereitei: I

**Author's Note:**

**Hello! Here is the next chapter. I must warn you that it is a little slow, still explaining/exploring details, and is the last of the slow chapters. This is where we see more of Byakuya and also where I tried to heat things up – just a tiny, little bit! :P  
Thank You SO MUCH for the reviews – even the doubtful ones!  
I promise this is going somewhere.**

**Chapter 5 is ready. It's called 'The Kuchiki Mansion', contains lots of fun and I will update when the total number of reviews comes to 40!  
(Please, pretty please! 40 for 4!)**

...

**CHAPTER: 4  
Sleepless in Sereitei: I**

(Byakuya's POV)

_Dear Kuchiki-Taichou  
My hearty respects and greetings to you!_

_Please do forgive this rather sudden intrusion upon your time. It seems that one of my usually effective and manageable order-transfers got misplaced and mixed with one of yours. Ah, the postal department must be really underpaid...  
The troublesome spell I'm talking about makes objects an irreversible blue and might also increase the amount of anything it touches. Fortunately, the remedy is very simple – just spray lots of clean water on the affected area/objects and they shall reduce in amount to normal. Getting the blue colour off, I'm afraid, is trickier. You'll just have to lick it.  
Saliva, with its many medicinal properties, seems to do the trick._

_Again, we are extremely sorry for your inconvenience.  
The Urahara Shop and I take all the responsibility and as compensation, have sent you a basket of the finest blueberry cookies._

_Sincerely  
Urahara Kisuke_

_P.S. While licking might not be something Kuchiki-San would very happily do, the colour is edible and a delicious blueberry flavour (one of my own ingenious recipes)_

Byakuya read the note twice. He was back at his mansion after the Calligraphy Association meeting. Many different emotions and urges were blooming in his mind, the least violent of which involved a large grinder and a small Urahara. There wasn't a doubt in Byakuya's mind that it wasn't an accident. Urahara Kisuke and coincidence didn't fit well together.  
_**"Lick it? I'm supposed to lick it?"**_ He closed his fingers around the note, effectively crumpling it. Kuchiki Byakuya did _not _lick hair ornaments. It was just not something he, or for that matter any other Kuchiki, ever did. A mental image briefly passed before his eyes and his frown deepened.

Extremely pissed off though he was, Byakuya followed through whatever Urahara had suggested. His helpers and mansion managers had the room cleaned out in no time. The blue colour, however, remained and Byakuya wasn't about to ask people to start licking objects. So he just had the entire contents of the room dumped, deciding to personally ask Urahara about another solution to the blue.

Meanwhile, he had his sleeping quarters transferred to another of the many, many rooms in the Mansion.

It was late evening by the time everything was done and Byakuya, truly exhausted, retired early. He was lying down on the futon, staring at the ceiling. Next to him, on a low platform, was the Kenseiken. While he could ignore the blue on most other objects, he couldn't where it came to the precious family heirloom.

Reluctant, he reached out for them and ran his tongue over one. He could immediately taste the blueberry and briefly regretted burning the basket of blueberry flavoured cookies that Urahara had sent him. He held it up, surveying it in the moonlight streaming in through the windows. It glinted back at him, clean and metallic, all traces of blue gone.

Byakuya sighed, resigned to his fate. He proceeded to lick all of the Kenseiken clean and then placed them back on the low-pedestal, happy he could wear them the next day. _**"Renji will be surprised again..."**_

Long years of control and a maturity that was forced on him refused to let him lose his cool. He recalled his vice-captain's incredulous look when he had seen him in a rage. But more than anything, he couldn't forget how Renji's eyes kept sweeping his face, following the locks of free hair on either side.

Byakuya had been heartbroken when Hisana had passed away. Some of that pain had healed when he had found Rukia. But he hadn't been willing to let her come close to him. What did he know then that she came with a package deal that included the brash, jumpy Abarai Renji? By the time he had nearly let Rukia die, nearly killed his vice-captain, Byakuya had realised that all his control, all his honour was futile, meaningless if he couldn't protect those he loved. Things changed. He still did keep perfect control, but he wasn't about to deny what he felt or not act just to uphold his honour and pride. Rukia grew closer to him. He even remembered feeling a most annoying, brotherly feeling of possessiveness whenever Ichigo would come around.

Things changed with Renji too. There was an unspoken agreement of trust between them. He trusted Renji and he cared for him. Somewhere along, he knew he had grown fond of Renji.

"_**And now you want more, ne Byakuya?" **_Byakuya closed his eyes. He wasn't going to lie to himself: he was attracted to the man and normally a thousand years could have passed and he would have ignored all such feelings but he just didn't want to anymore. _**"The Elders are going to be thrilled this time..."**_

...

(Renji's POV)

Renji was twisting about in bed. You couldn't exactly call it a nightmare, but it wasn't a very pleasant dream either.

[_Byakuya was running around the Squad Six buildings, hair flying loose. Correction: Byakuya was running _after_ Renji, around the Squad Six building. He was yelling at Renji to stop so that he could cut Renji's hair and pin the Kenseiken to it. Byakuya was drawing closer and Renji tripped in his anxiety to get away. The second's drop in speed was all it took and Byakuya was onto him. When he moved away, he was holding Renji's long, beautiful red hair in his hand. Renji screamed, touching his head to find that he didn't just have short hair, he actually had no hair at all._]

It took Renji a whole 5 seconds to realise that he was screaming and another 5 to realise that he was awake, safe and in bed with his beautiful hair intact. He was sitting up, one hand over his heart, the other tugging at his braid. Renji flopped back onto the futon, growling with frustration.

He didn't know what had scared him more – Byakuya's freakish behaviour or the loss of his hair. _**"Hair, duh!" **_he thought, recalling a conversation he had had long ago with Ukitake Taichou. Byakuya had been very short-tempered and impulsive as a kid. The way Ukitake Taichou and Kyoraku Taichou made it sound, the tale seemed a classic Sereitei favourite. _**"Like today morning..."**_ Renji frowned in the darkness as he thought of Byakuya. He couldn't believe his captain could just pretend that everything was normal at the end of the day. He wasn't even wearing his Kenseiken, for crying out loud!

Renji smiled at the memory and then felt his face grow hot. Byakuya had looked a vision. If only he could run his hands through those midnight-locks once. Or at least, touch them. Renji started to drift back into sleep.

[_He would give anything to be able to touch him. Byakuya was sitting right next to him, on the futon. Renji reached up, his fingertips grazing against Byakuya's face and then twisting in his hair. Byakuya was frowning and he batted Renji's hand away. Then, without warning, he shifted and Renji's breath caught in his throat. Byakuya was now leaning over Renji, his hair tickling Renji's neck and shoulders. His face was close to Renji's and his lips were just centimetres away. He could feel the warm breath and he tilted his head, trying to catch those soft lips with his own. But Byakuya turned his head, dipping it slightly. He kissed Renji's neck; a soft, almost chaste kiss._]

This time Renji woke silently. He stared at the ceiling without moving. That was a very, _very_ tame dream compared to what he sometimes saw and yet he was breathing deeply, hot and wanting. He sat up, kicking off the covers. He refused to give in to his need, angry and frustrated with the knowledge that it would never be the way he wanted it. He stood up, grabbed a towel and stomped out of the room. _**"We'll see how excited we are after a nice, cold shower..."**_

...

**Okay. How was that? That's the first step towards our little goal of getting them together!  
Hehe...I know it isn't much and I'm going slow on the action, but trust me, my overworked brain is coming up with devious little plots. **

**Chapter 5 is written. Like I said, it will be put up when the total reviews comes somewhere close to 40! Please guys, 10 reviews per chapter is not asking for much!**

**Love you, thank you for reading!  
Moonlitpride**


	5. The Kuchiki Mansion

**CHAPTER 5: The Kuchiki Mansion**

**Author's Note:**

**WHOA! Thank you, thank you SO much for the reviews! It's made me so happy that I'm posting this one so soon to the last! :D**

**For Chapter 6: The Candy Precursor - I'll need more than 50 reviews!  
(I'm working overtime here)  
(Fun coming up – little by little!)**

**Okay, I need to thank, hug, buy chocolates, send Byakuya/Renji in a gift-wrapped box to you guys for being so sweet and sticking with the story – it's really got me all typing away chapters like crazy!**

**Here's Chapter 5 dedicated to:  
Mello-The-Melon  
x pink cloud x  
Sscullys  
SpookyWeasel  
geminia55  
lara5170  
HatakeLuci  
animegirl03  
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Mewmar  
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Orant mihi  
Roara chan  
Perkins814  
SadPanda  
Byakuya-renji  
Dooh  
Debloda  
Aerun  
Me  
Number 40**

**(Really? Urm...either you guys are really kind and are reviewing multiple times or It's just like! Mind, I'm not complaining! LOVE You all!)**

LOVE YOU!  
(Read Now!)

**Disclaimer: No, Bleach does not belong to me. Period. (I thought we'd have been clear on that by now...)**

**...**

(Renji's POV)

It seemed as if normal happenings had ceased in and around Soul Society, especially where the 6th Squad was concerned.

For one, Renji was doing his paperwork as if his life depended on it. Secondly, Matsumoto and the Shinigami Women's Association seemed to have finally succeeded in acquiring a bigger budget for the season's 'Fun and Festivities' Fair. The said fair would start in 2 days time. They were organising a 'Delicious Day' as the Grand Finale and all the younger, fresher batch of Shinigamis couldn't stop talking about it.

Thirdly, Hitsugaya was seen freezing huge cartons of god-knows-what and he was _smiling_ as he did it. In fact, he was positively grinning.

It was also a week since the Kenseiken episode and just when the Squad was beginning to think that everything was back to normal, Byakuya turned up late. Mind, it was only 5 minutes late – but late, nevertheless. What was worse, Renji was already there, BEFORE him.

Renji knew, even before he opened the door to the office that Byakuya wasn't there. When he pushed the door open, the room was empty. Caught between an odd feeling of being surprised at something and having expected it at the same time, Renji took up his place at his desk.

No sooner had he sat, the door opened and Byakuya walked in.

"Morning, Abarai" Byakuya said, not looking at him as usual, walking to sit in his chair, as usual.

"_**Good Morning, Taichou. How are you?"**_ Renji wanted to say. Instead he said "You're late."

Byakuya had been about to sit down. He looked up at Renji, who was frozen in his chair, mind still trying to process what he had said.

The dark-haired noble was frowning at Renji. Suddenly, he cocked his head to a side and spoke:

"When was the last time you had a haircut, Abarai-fukutaichou?"

Renji visibly paled as flashes of a past dream flitted across his eyes. So that was how his Captain was going to punish him – by making him bald. Yes, life was definitely over and all he needed was a chappy-bunny dress and for Byakuya to hand Ichigo the scissors. The whole thing presented in front of Sereitei as an audience seemed like a nice finish.

"Hmm...Really, Abarai. I wasn't going to suggest you have one. Must you be so dramatic?"

Dramatic? Kuchiki Byakuya, drama-queen of Sereitei in his silences and short sentences, was calling him, Renji, dramatic? He glared at Byakuya, who seemed thoroughly amused. Then Renji belatedly realised what Byakuya meant: He was standing, up against the wall, Zabimaru in one hand, the other hand protectively cradling his long plait, pressing it to his neck.

Renji held the pose for a second longer before sheathing Zabimaru and throwing himself back into his chair. His face was burning with embarrassment and he fidgeted with the papers on his desk, not looking up. Byakuya, however, seemed to be in an especially talkative mood.

"In answer to your rather rude question, which I shall overlook for now, I ran into Matsumoto just outside the building. I signed a 'participation form' on behalf of Squad 6 for the Fair. It seemed the only way to be rid of the woman..."

Renji was now staring at Byakuya. While one half of him was struggling to process that Byakuya was talking, almost casually, in full sentences about something that wasn't strictly work related, the other half had an alarm bell ringing on full volume. He realised with a jolt what it was.

"Taichou, you _signed_ a form for _Rangiku_?"

"That is what I just said. Your ears are in perfect order Abarai..."

"But Taichou..." Renji completely ignored the jibe. He didn't know how to put it. If Rangiku and the fair were involved, he just knew that it meant trouble. "...I'm not sure that was entirely safe..."

"Next time, I shall call upon my very safe and quick-thinking vice-captain to handle such a situation."

Renji made a sound halfway between a growl and a bark, staring daggers at Byakuya. Not surprisingly, it had no effect whatsoever. Byakuya was now reading a memo on the table, face smooth and expressionless as usual. By rules that he alone knew and set, conversation time was over.

But Renji could hardly concentrate on his work. He felt close to a blow-up. How was he supposed to react to and deal with his Captain at times like these when he got all unpredictable and almost normal? He had even joked. Kuchiki Byakuya cracked a joke – at Renji's expense – but a joke it was.

The day proceeded quite uneventfully until tea-time. As Renji left the room to prepare tea, a young and very nervous boy entered, stuttering at Byakuya, unable to meet his eyes. Renji didn't pay much attention, but when he returned, he saw Byakuya frowning at something on his table. He looked remarkably like his usual self.

"Is everything alright Taichou?" Renji asked, placing the tray on a side table.

"I have to leave, Abarai. Please complete your reports and lock-up after you."

"What's the matter? Have there been any attacks? Taichou..."

"The Kuchiki Elders are at the mansion. They wish to see me." Byakuya was scowling heavily now. Renji knew that Byakuya had issues with the Elders, what with repeatedly breaking their code of honour first by marrying Hisana, then adopting Rukia, then saving her. Renji didn't know what to say – he felt it wasn't his place to comment.

"Evening, Abarai..." Byakuya was almost out the door and Renji felt a sudden pang of fear seeing him go.

"Wait, Taichou! I...Urm...the reports have to be signed by you. It has to go for submission first thing in the morning..."

Byakuya paused and his steel-grey eyes held Renji's for a second and Renji felt an inexplicable urge to keep talking, to keep him from leaving.

"There are quite a few of them...There ain't gonna be time in the morning..."

"In that case, bring them to the Mansion when you are done. I shall check them. The Elders do not wait for dinner."

"Ha...Hai Taichou."

The door shut close and Byakuya disappeared from sight. Renji didn't move from where he was standing. His heart was beating madly and he wondered what Byakuya would make of the not-so-subtle flare in his reiatsu. Renji wasn't exactly known for control but even he wasn't so random.

...

Renji drank the entire pot of tea he had made. He then made some more and finished that too. He felt like kicking himself for reminding Byakuya about the reports. There actually were a lot of them and it was 7 in the evening but Renji still had work to do.

"_**Smart, real smart Abarai. A few seconds longer of Kuchiki Byakuya comes at the cost of truckloads of work – for you! How will he sign it if I haven't done it?"**_

It was well past 8.30 when he was finally done with all the reports. Since it was already that late, he decided to have dinner before dropping the reports off at the Kuchiki Mansion. When he did finally reach there, it was 9 and he wondered if Byakuya would be pissed at him. He had never visited the Mansion after dark. Renji's heart started hammering once again.

He knocked on the large, wooden front doors and an elderly lady answered.

"Uh...Abarai Renji, 6th Squad Fukutaichou reporting to Kuchiki Taichou..." He couldn't complete the sentence.

"Ah, yes, Abarai-San. Please wait for a while; Kuchiki Sama will be out of the bath shortly. You can wait in the gardens, if you wish. The night-flowers are very pretty."

"Hai. Arigatou!"

Renji promptly forgot about the pile of reports he had left on the table, right after entering. No wonder the Shinigami Women's Association wanted a pool in Byakuya's Gardens! It was like a mini-paradise and the many varieties of night-blooming flowers filled the air with scents that were exotic and pleasant.

He wandered about, mostly staring at the fruit trees and wondering if he'd be able to sneak a few fruits without getting killed before he had a chance to digest them. He turned a corner of the house, lost in thought. When he did look around, he realised he was outside the sleeping quarters for the windows were mostly dark and it was quiet.

Renji turned to head back but his eyes caught movement and he paused. The sliding doors to one of the rooms on the ground-floor were open and someone was kneeling in front of a wall mirror. Renji froze, knowing he should move, knowing he should leave but not being able to do so.

There, kneeling, dressed in simple white bath robes, was Kuchiki Byakuya. By the way he was moving his arms, Renji felt that he was perhaps drying or combing his hair. The devil must have gotten into him because Renji felt himself moving closer to the building, shifting so that he had some cover behind a Sakura tree. If he lost even a little control, he knew Byakuya would be able to feel his reiatsu. Renji was hardly breathing as he watched the person he respected, loved, hated and desired.

Byakuya was indeed combing his hair. His hand slowed halfway, and he turned his head towards the garden. Renji quickly moved behind the tree and waited, praying he hadn't been caught. He chanced a peep and to his relief, Byakuya was back to combing. Renji was quite close by and he almost felt the silk of the strands that Byakuya slowly, carefully ran his comb through. Byakuya seemed to enjoy combing his hair, running his fingers after the comb. Renji wondered whether he even knew that he had come with the reports and was 'waiting' for him.

Byakuya turned his head away, towards the interior of the room and Renji heard the rustle of curtains. He saw Byakuya nod, place the comb beside the mirror and get up. Realising that the housekeepers must have informed him of Renji's arrival, Renji waited just long enough for Byakuya's form to disappear further into the house before he shunpo-ed back to the front. He landed a few feet away from the door that led to the sitting room and, composing his features into what he hoped was a calm expression, he walked towards it. Even as he reached for the handle, it was pushed open and Byakuya was standing in front of Renji. He had simply swapped the bath-robes for loose, white pyjamas and haori. He wasn't wearing the Kenseiken either and Renji stuttered as he greeted him

"Taichou! Ah...Gomen...I was late...the reports...are...urm...done..."

"Yes. I can see that, Abarai." Byakuya held the door open and Renji walked in, automatically making his way to the table on which the reports were placed.

"There" Renji said, feeling very useless, as he pointed at the papers. He couldn't look at Byakuya's face, afraid that he would give away the guilt he felt for watching him earlier.

"Hmm..."

Renji hated awkward silences. Of course everyone did, but here, he seemed to be the only one feeling awkward. Byakuya gaze was steady.

"How did the meeting go?" Renji blurted out, after what was just 3 seconds of silence.

It wasn't the right thing to say and he realised it the moment the words were out. Byakuya eyes hardened ever so little, a small frown appearing on his forehead. Renji knew what would follow – his captain would either dismiss him, or kill him very painfully, or snap at him, or change the subject. Renji dreaded what was coming. Byakuya had such hard, strong walls around him all the time, it was near impossible to learn what he was thinking or feeling. And yet, Renji almost always knew, as did those who had been around him for a long time. He couldn't stand it- after weeks of tension and suppressed impulsiveness, Renji lost it.

"No disrespect and all, Taichou, but I think they need to loosen up" Renji winced as he said this. Now they were both behaving the way they usually did: Renji loud, coarse and impulsive and Byakuya silent, cold and angry. Byakuya did not have his sword on him but Renji was pretty sure Byakuya knew at least 10 ways of causing serious physical pain without even moving a finger. But when did that ever stop him? "Tradition and nobility shouldn't be heartache..."

"Renji" Byakuya's voice was soft and his face was expressionless. One of the most deadly combinations, Renji knew. He had not missed the use of his first name either.

"...Come on, for once will you just..."

"Renji..." Byakuya said again, a little louder.

"...not shut everything away? I know it ain't my place..." Renji continued, stubbornly. But he couldn't finish the sentence. Byakuya must have used shun-po because Renji hadn't seen him move. Yet he was right next to him, unbelievably and dangerously close. Byakuya leaned in and Renji stopped breathing.

"Relax, Renji." Byakuya sounded calm and easy, almost casual. Renji felt some of the dark, long hair fall forward onto his arm as Byakuya reached forward. When he stepped away, he was holding the pile of reports. He turned and walked towards the door. "Good night, Abarai-Fukutaichou. I shall sign the reports. You can leave." Byakuya moved the sliding door aside and the next second he was gone.

Renji, however, didn't move immediately. He took in a deep, calming breath and let it out slowly. Byakuya's unpredictable mood swings were going to kill him and he knew it. He left by the garden door, using a few choice curse words. He was now in a hurry to get to his room. Renji's mind was going haywire and he pushed it all away. When he reached, he had a shower and got into bed.

His eyes were open, alert. Renji didn't want to follow a certain train of thought that had come into being in Byakuya's sitting room. Byakuya had been so close to him. His lips had been right next to Renji's ear. He had been leaning so close that Renji had smelt the mild sweetness of whatever shampoo he had used. He regretted not breathing in when Byakuya was by his side. _**"Yeah, sure! That would be so subtle..."**_ Renji snorted. And yet, Byakuya _had_ moved so close to him. He could have taken the reports after Renji left. He could have asked Renji to hand them over. He could have done it a 100 different ways if he had wanted to just take the reports and dismiss Renji.

"_**And his voice..."**_ Renji groaned in frustration. Byakuya had sounded so hot and sexy. Unwarranted images were playing in his head and he wondered what Byakuya would sound like if he lost control; if he was in pleasure...if Renji was the one pleasuring him...

He pushed the dirty thoughts away. Today, they weren't enough to drive him mad with need, to set his body on fire. Today, he had something else on his mind, something that scared and thrilled him at the same time. Should he begin to hope? What was that anyway – "hope"? Some long forgotten thing. And what was there to hope for when nothing could be called normal about either of them and when they were from two different worlds. _**"But now we're in the same one..."**_ he thought. A second later he frowned at how corny that sounded. _**"But Byakuya, if there is at all any chance...I need to know, right? And if..."**_ Renji gulped, forcing himself to think 'if' instead of 'when' _**"...and if I know that there isn't, well...I'll not be surprised..."**_

God, he _was_ being dramatic. Hanging around people like Ichigo and Urahara did that to him.

...

**Author's Note:  
Ah – so! Is that acceptance we see? But DUH that won't be enough! *wicked grin*  
I intend to make it slightly tricky, hehehehe!**

**Meanwhile, you know what I need – REVIEWS!  
(More than 50 this time for me to post next chapter!)  
Moonlitpride**


	6. The Candy Precursor

**A/N:**

**Hello All!  
Hope everyone had a brilliant Christmas and Wishing you all a very Happy New Year!  
Also, THANK YOU a million times for the wonderful reviews!  
It's keeping me so motivated!**

**Lara5170 - the lines in quotes bolded and italicized are the thoughts...like directly thinking. the other explanations are standard 3rd person narraive! :P :D Sorry if it was confusing and sorry about it going slow. Trust me, I cant wait for them to get undressed either! But I want to take it slow.**

**To everyone - I'm sorry if I'm dragging it, I really want to keep to the characters, you know...  
Anyway, this chapter has a little bit of something in it, nowhere close to 'R'...but still..The point is, this is the deciding chapter so it had to be there...Promise the next one will be more action oriented!**

**Love you all again and dont forget to review (more than 60 for 6ch!)**

Disclaimer - For the 100th time, no...I don't own Bleach! (Do you have to rub it in?)

**...**

**CHAPTER: 6  
The Candy Precursor**

(Renji's POV)

The next day passed very slowly – at least for Renji. He hadn't slept a bit the previous night and he was in a very foul mood as he marched up to the 6 Squad. It didn't help that Matsumoto, Ikkaku and Yumichika made a sudden appearance, stopping him halfway to his destination.

"Renji!" Matsumoto seemed to be slightly high. She had dark circles underneath her eyes and looked even worse than Renji did. "Ah, thank heavens we found you!"

"Rangiku-San, you look like hell. Hi Yumi, Baldy" Renji greeted the others. He was in a bad mood, but it wasn't exactly easy to snap at people who looked like they'd been awake cleaning grime from the whole city for the past month. Yumichika and Ikkaku were carrying what looked like cartons with familiar labels.

Yumichika sighed. Ikkaku seemed to have swallowed a watermelon.

"You...BASTARD! It's my hairstyle – it's sexy! The chicks dig it. I'm not BALD!" he roared.

"Hmm...The last I checked, I was very much male..." Yumichika muttered "...and much hotter than any chick..."

"_**Don't be so sure..."**_ Renji thought, remembering the white, flowing cotton and dark, silk hair. He immediately frowned, being reminded at once the reason for his bad mood and his sleepless night.

"Anyway...Renji, we need you to take one of these cartons to the 6th Squad." Matsumoto said, rubbing her eyes

"What's in it?" Renji asked, squinting at the labels again. With a jolt, he recognized the name 'Kisuke's Classic Sweets and Savouries' "Candy? Is Rukia here?" Renji's pitch rose in his excitement. It seemed an age since he last saw Rukia.

"No No" Matsumoto was shaking her head, a little too vigorously. The lack of sleep really seemed to be getting to her. "This came by post order. It's for the Fair. These are complimentary invitation boxes, one for each squad."

"It's a precursor for the actual delights..." Yumichika chuckled. Ikkaku, for some strange reason, flushed at that and Renji stared at them, suddenly suspicious.

"What 'delights', exactly?"

"Ah, you'll find out Renji-kun" Matsumoto crooned, sounding like herself again. Understandably, that did nothing to ease his worries.

...

The next half-hour was a blur. He had carried the carton up to the office. Byakuya was already there and he frowned at Renji's late appearance. Renji explained and Byakuya's frown deepened. He summoned Rikichi and Renji was barely able to grab a few of the sweetmeats before the box was carried away, to be distributed amongst the rest of the Squad.

Renji gloomily watched the door close after Rikichi._**"A whole carton..."**_

"Really Taichou, I could have just had a look into the box first..."

"So that the Squad finds an empty carton and a sugar-induced high monkey..."

"The Squad is having a field day – no training, no work, no assignments, no cleaning..."

"With the Fair starting day after, there really isn't anything else to do. Besides, you can hardly expect them to train when the people in charge have piles of reports to finish, all a result of lazy procrastination. I can see how much faster you would be doing your work after consuming a truckload of sweets..."

"I WOULDN'T have eaten the whole thing!" Renji pointed at Byakuya "You're the one missing out! I managed to grab a few, but you'll go without even tasting them!" Renji knew Byakuya didn't like sweets but it was something he could never understand.

"Assuming I would want to ingest the outputs from the kitchen of a lunatic shopkeeper..."

"Lunatic? Yeah, that...but Urahara-San's candy sells like hot cakes in Karakura. I'm sure it'd give even the Kuchiki sweet-makers a run for their money..."

"Abarai, start working on those reports or you will be running for your life..."

_15 minutes later_

Renji realised he had been reading the same line for the past few minutes. His mind was firmly wrapped around the half-dozen or so candy bits that were on one side of his table. The coloured packaging innocently glinted back at him whenever he looked that way and he was fidgeting in his seat. Now, not to be confused with greed or childish obsession – Renji was starving. He hadn't had breakfast. Plus, it had been so long since he had been to the human world and he sorely missed a few aspects of it, especially all the varieties of food he had gotten to try out. Now, looking at the candy, knowing it was Candy from Urahara's san's shop, he wanted nothing more than to gobble them all up.

He absentmindedly marked a sentence from a report, circling a random word. It was a long time to lunch break and Renji suppressed a groan at how the seconds seemed to drag by, inching forward reluctantly.

"Abarai"

Renji' nearly snapped his neck with the speed with which he looked up, away from the candy, and at his Captain. He was immediately distracted – Byakuya didn't look annoyed or angry. He looked amused, smug almost. Not for the first time, Renji reminded himself that things had changed between them; from trust to care to a kind of easy camaraderie. Nothing had changed in the essence of either's character and Byakuya was still cold, distant and Renji loud and brash, but something forceful and constricting had been cast away. The 'argument' they had had a few minutes ago was proof to that. But Byakuya' was also becoming increasingly difficult to read. He had been pissed off earlier and now he looked amused.

"I wasn't aware that your lack of control extends to candy, Abarai."

"What?" Renji coloured immediately. Gods, he had noticed...

"If it is going to be such a hinder to your work, then I suggest you finish the candy first." Byakuya was looking down at his table again, brush already sweeping over the paper.

Renji hesitated for a split second. Then, throwing aside his pride and humiliation and everything else, he grabbed the nearest candy, unwrapped it and popped it into his mouth. Sighing contentedly, he leaned back in his chair. Renji finished 4 sticks of candy before he slowed down, feeling a kind of sleepy happiness wash over him. There were about 3 more left and he picked out what looked like chocolate fudge. Not as hungry anymore, he took his time opening it. The warm weather had made the fudge sticky but Renji couldn't care less. He took the little cube into his mouth directly from the wrapper, sucking and chewing on it, completely unaware of how loud he was being. Happily, he licked the remaining fudge from the wrapper and then proceeded to clean his fingertips in a similar manner. The chocolate was heaven and it tasted better than he remembered. Grinning stupidly, he stretched, looked across the room and sat up with a jerk, feeling his face burn.

Byakuya was staring at him, eyes wide and looking completely appalled. Right, he had forgotten that he was sitting in front of a blue-blood noble with table-manners that would probably put the God of Etiquette to shame.

They held each other's gaze for some time, Byakuya looking shocked and Renji mortified. Then something shifted in the Noble's grey eyes and he sighed, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose.

Renji got back to his work, still red-faced. For some reason, his heart was beating very fast and images of the previous night kept swirling in front of his eyes. Yesterday, Byakuya had been, even if for a few seconds, standing so close to Renji. But no matter how much closer he got, the fact of the matter would never change: Byakuya was a Noble. He was the proud, honour-bound Kuchiki Clan leader and Renji was another street-urchin from Rukongai. He had been a homeless stray and in many ways he still was.

"_**Guess there are some differences that are just too much, too big."**_ He was staring at the table, head down. Byakuya would probably notice that he still was distracted but Renji didn't care anymore. The 6th Squad Captain was known for his sharp sarcasm and occasional bursts of humour. But this was different. Byakuya didn't have any business to behave so _human_ every now and then and make things so unbearable for Renji; to make him hope when, clearly, there never was or would be a chance.

Renji was finding it difficult to breathe now. The thought of never getting any closer to Byakuya was crushing him. He knew what he felt for Byakuya was more than just physical attraction. He cared deeply for his captain. But for the first time, Renji was acutely aware of just how much he was attached to the man. The silence was overpowering and he felt like he could bite into the solid reality that stretched between them. He couldn't take it anymore. He stood up, pushing his chair back as he did so. Byakuya probably looked up; Renji didn't know; he didn't lift his head to see.

"Gomenai, Taichou!" the next instant he was out the door, flash-stepping so fast that he was almost flying. He would get it for what he just did but Renji didn't care. The wind was stinging his face but it wasn't strong enough to erase the tear tracks. Angry, Renji dragged his clothed arm across his face. He kept going, not knowing or caring where he was headed to.

...

(Byakuya's POV)

Byakuya blinked in surprise. He had thought the sweets would make his vice-captain happy enough that he would complete at least 3 reports by noon.

Things were getting strained between them and Byakuya knew it. He of course, never let such things show on his face. No matter what he felt or what he thought, Byakuya was always calm, composed and dignified.

"_**Like yesterday night, you mean..."**_ Byakuya leaned back, dropping his head on the back of his chair. Yesterday night he had _not_ been calm or composed. He had drawn out combing his hair when he had felt Renji's reiatsu. Knowing that he was close by, that he was watching, Byakuya had, in a fit of impulsiveness, decided to continue.  
And then, when he had met Renji, he hadn't exactly acted _normal_ then either. Kuchiki Byakuya was allowed to feel desperation, to long, to want. He just wasn't allowed to show it. Those were the unsaid rules._ Rules that have proved themselves wrong repeatedly..._

The meeting with the Kuchiki Elders had been what he had expected – an average nightmare. They had all wanted to get a single point across: the need for an heir. The Kuchiki line had to be continued, of course. They had even started discussing possible candidates, all princesses and noble-women from reputed families. His usual lack of interest and calm stubbornness had annoyed them beyond measure. Only his grandfather, Ginrei had remained silent. Ginrei always was that way. Before leaving, he had looked at Byakuya thoughtfully and Byakuya had got the vague impression that Ginrei wanted to tell him something. But then they all left and Byakuya didn't have a chance to talk to his grandfather alone.

After all that drama and formalities and reminders of duty, Byakuya had snapped when Renji had started yelling. He had been angry initially but the feeling was quickly replaced by curiosity. Byakuya had been distracted by the passion in Renji's eyes. In fact, with every word that Renji said in favour of Byakuya following his heart, Byakuya had come closer to doing just that. He felt he detected a hint of something more than just friendly-care behind Renji's words and he had wanted to know for sure.

Sure they had been that close before. In the battles and training sessions they were practically running into each other. But this had been different because he had meant it to be different and Renji had immediately felt it. He had frozen and his reiatsu had flared suddenly and when Byakuya moved away, Renji was blushing. Byakuya had noticed all of this and he had known then; known for sure...

Byakuya was very well aware of the reputation he had. Renji was amongst the few people who knew him very well and his behaviour was throwing even his vice-captain off track. Byakuya looked at Renji's abandoned desk from. Renji seemed to enjoy licking things and Byakuya had been completely caught by it. Byakuya had looked up when he had heard a loud, sucking sound and had seen Renji with the wrapper held to his lips. He hadn't been able to draw his eyes away.

Renji had flushed magnificently when he had known that Byakuya had been watching.

"_**And then you ran away...I thought I was the one who did that..."**_

But Byakuya was, not for nothing, a highly perceptive person. He knew Renji had been extremely upset when he had left the office. He had felt the sudden weight and sorrow settle into the younger man's spirit and energy. Byakuya knew that Renji had been terribly embarrassed, ashamed almost – not that he had been seen eating like a 5 year old but that _Byakuya_ had seen him do so. He also knew, without a doubt, that it had to do with yesterday's happenings. Byakuya sighed. _He_ was the one who ought to be ashamed; he was the one who had watched Renji's innocent, child-like actions with not-so innocent thoughts running through his head.

He was going to end up hurting both of them if he didn't decide on his actions. He either had to withdraw entirely and not show his weakness in fits and bursts or he had to let go and let his vice-captain openly know, see and feel what he too felt. Renji had accepted and lived with Byakuya's honour and rules and distances long enough. Byakuya had come to know exactly what pride was and how proud he was when Ichigo had come to rescue Rukia during Aizen's betrayal. Byakuya lived by honour, law and duty but he was too proud to let it hurt the people he loved.

"_**I suppose licking does have its benefits..."**_ Byakuya's pale cheeks coloured ever so slightly and he dropped his gaze, looking away from where Renji had been seated just moments ago. Somewhere, miles away, a set of straight-backed, stiff-necked people, all related by the title 'Kuchiki', seemed to choke a little, some on food, some on water, most on plain air. None of them, of course, gave a second thought to the mild discomfort, blissfully unaware of the thoughts running through the mind of Kuchiki Byakuya.

...

**A/N**

**So, there it is - what do you think?  
:D :P  
I think you can see what's coming next (any guesses, anyone?)  
(HINT - so far kinks, title of this chapter..)  
Byakuya is going to take a lead, i think - should i let him?**

***wink* *nudge***

**Review and tell!  
(Be nice, it's the Xmas month!)**

**Moonlitpride**


	7. The Day of the Fair

**CHAPTER 7:**

**Disclaimer:** Bleach belongs to Kubo Tite and others; I'm just a poor fan expressing my devotion to the manga and the anime!

Dear readers, followers and those who wish to murder me  
Ohayo!  
I can only say I'm sorry and that I have genuine reasons, which I shall not bore you with!  
(Suffice to say that I have summer vacations now, though I'm doing an internship – at least I have access to net and I can keep posting the chapters!)

This chapter is dedicated to all those who kept reviewing and had faith (sob) in me and in this fanfic of mine!

Please be patient with me – this chapter is long but *quite* important!  
Shall update as soon as I can!  
love  
Moonlitpride  
…...

(Renji's POV)

He should have been asleep by this time, but Renji was wide awake. Of course, it was hardly the first time…  
He had kept running for quite some time before calming down. Then he had felt extremely stupid but hadn't wanted to return to his quarters until sometime ago. He was now back in his room, stretched out on the futon, fully clothed and fully awake.

While the previous pain and uncertainty still lingered in him, he was growing increasingly apprehensive about meeting Byakuya at work the next day. The last time Renji had run out on duty, Byakuya had made him repaint the entire 6th Squad…with a paintbrush…

"_**Maybe it'll rain baboons and he'll make it quick and painless this time…"**_

…...

(The Next Day)  
(Matsumoto's POV)

Matsumoto was in shock.

The Fest was tomorrow and they were all seated around a pile of paper and many different sized boxes. Registration and administration was painful work. Hitsugaya, initially present to keep an eye on everyone and eventually dragged into counting applications, was sitting right opposite her. On either side sat Ikkaku and Yumichika, counting coupons and money, respectively. Hisagi had been put in charge of sorting forms, but he hadn't turned up. So Matsumoto was doing the forms, participation forms to be specific. These were for a particularly interesting part of the fest – a ''Hottest Officer'' competition for Captains, Vice-Captains and Seated Officers. She had been counting and marking the men's forms when she came across a name that she just couldn't digest.

"_**He gave his name for THIS? Wait - that he gave his name at all is in itself an event of unlikely proportions…"**_

Wordlessly, she reached over and waved the form under Hitsugaya's nose (whose name was, incidentally, also on the list, put there without his knowledge by his ever-so-faithful vice-captain).

"What, Matsumoto?"

Wordlessly, she passed him the form. Hitsugaya was frowning at her, eyes narrowed but then his eyes caught the name on the form and he froze. The ice-prince didn't move for about 3 seconds; then he started laughing…loudly…

…...

Renji remembered clearly thinking, many times in the past, how confusing it was to have Byakuya behave cold and distant at times and warm and passionate otherwise. He was struck by the same feeling, except this time it was accompanied by a good deal of what was very close to suspicion.

He was in the office and so was Byakuya. They were both seated in their usual spots. Renji had come in expecting to be grilled but Byakuya had handed him a big bunch of paperwork and had wordlessly, in Byakuya-style, ordered for silence. And silent it was, all throughout the day.

The silence was broken only during tea-time. Byakuya suddenly asked Renji:

"Urahara Kisuke will be attending the fest tomorrow. The Squad can't seem to stop talking about it, Abarai Fukutaichou. What do you think?"

"…No, I didn't hear anything of the sort…is he coming, Taichou?"

"I quite expect him to show up with a flourish suited to an ape, dramatist that he is…"

Right. Now that he thought about it, it made perfect sense for Urahara to show up. Renji knew only too well how much the man liked to show off. The fest would be an ideal platform…which reminded Renji of something else, something he was slightly hesitant to ask. Feeling stupid, he decided to say something about it anyway

"Hai…Taichou…Rikichi brought forms yesterday and I…I didn't get a chance to fill in…I wanted to take part in the fest…"

"Hmm…which competition, Abarai?"

"Oh…ha! There's this lame-ass one called 'Hottest Officer'…" Renji rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed that he'd brought it up at all. He usually took part in goofy things…now that it was Matsumoto-arranged and all, he had wanted to take part in something showy

"I forbid you."

"…and it's quite lame, like I was saying…which is why I wanted to take part in something else OTHER than that…" Renji finished, succeeding in fooling no one.

"You can participate on the second day of the fest. There are other things that need to be done tomorrow."

"Other things like…?" The suspicion was back. Byakuya wasn't looking at Renji anymore. He seemed to be clearing his desk. "…Urm…are you leaving, Taichou?"

"Yes. You can leave too."

"…ok…but Taichou…the training forms are yet to be marked…and you have to go through the new schedule to approve it…" Renji's voice faded into nothing as Byakuya looked up, directly at him. There was an unmistakable look of amusement and…_satisfaction…_in his eyes. Now the amusement Renji could understand: that _Renji _should be reminding _Byakuya_ of _work_. But the look of unrestrained, smug satisfaction thoroughly baffled Renji and he nearly didn't notice that Byakuya had gotten up and was already at the door.

"..Ah, Taichou! You said…there were other things to do tomorrow…what other things?"

"I need you to watch something, Renji…without hiding behind trees…" and with that, Byakuya was gone.

Renji's jaw fell to the floor. A mix of liquid fear and surprise coursed through him. _**"No way…there's no way…why didn't he say right then that he'd caught me watching…and he didn't skewer me either…and why…if he knew…why did he continue…?"**_

…...

(Byakuya's POV)

Byakuya was lying awake in bed. It wasn't that he was disturbed or apprehensive about what he planned he would do the next day. With every passing minute, he felt more and more foolish. He could just tell Renji, in words…or make him confess first and then accept the same…or he could push him up against the wall and kiss him senseless…

"_**Kami…what has he done to the great Kuchiki Byakuya…?"**_

What Byakuya was thinking about was the dramatics involved in the 'plan'. Not that he wasn't confident about pulling it off…he knew he could do that, in all modesty, effortlessly.

"_**No…the sole reason for the wall between us is the fact that you were once nobody, a rat from Rukongai and I was born with more titles and honours than a 100 nobles put together…"**_

The Dramatics were essential. He had to show Renji that he didn't, truly, care about all that. He would probably always be the proud, straight-backed Kuchiki that he was, but he wasn't going to suppress his original impulsiveness and passion anymore.

All the small incidents and all the big, serious ones had, little by little, led to how he felt today. He wasn't going to sacrifice his happiness and the happiness of the people he loved for the sake of a set of obsolete, irrational values and codes.

…...

**THE DAY OF THE FEST**

(Renji's POV)

Renji felt disorientated. He had woken up remarkably early, which was a miracle considering he hadn't been able to sleep for hours the previous night. He brushed, washed and dressed with an unexplainable urgency. He felt with all the conviction of a warrior's instinct that today was going to be a day he wouldn't forget.

"_**Yeah, I mean, I actually got up early…"**_

Snorting, he stepped out of his quarters and was surprised at the bustle and activity around him. Everyone seemed to have woken up early. Shinagami men and women were walking briskly in all directions, grinning, laughing and talking. Many of them carried bags and boxes and a lot of them were dressed in clothes that he was sure they'd never bring out of the closet otherwise.

The joyousness and excitement in the air naturally seeped into him and he found himself grinning at Seated-Officers, Vice-Captains, Unohana Taichou (wearing a strange, long flowing Indian drape), Ikkaku (still looking tired but happy), Unseated-Officers, students, shopkeepers, dog…

He wandered through the lanes, automatically making his way to his favourite breakfast shop. The shopkeeper and chef, a big round man, was quite fond of Renji and over the years they had developed a comfortable camaraderie that involved Renji eating messily and the shopkeeper running after him to collect the money for the food.

Renji took a long time eating, chewing on his food calmly. Now Renji _seldom_ chewed "calmly"; food according to him was meant to be devoured with an energy that paid _proper_ respect to it. Today, however, he was calm and dignified as he ate…of course, he didn't _know_ that he was being clam and dignified.

Renji was spacing out.

The inexplicable feeling of excitement, fear, dread and joy all mixed up and churned its way through him, until he turned glass on the outside, unable to express the curious mix.

"Abarai…Are you listening to what I'm saying?"

"Huh?" Renji was shaken out of his reverie by the Shopkeeper.

"I was saying that Rikichi was here. He seemed in a hurry, said something about Candy and the 2nd Competition. Also, Matsumoto-san just popped in now to collect some rolls."

"Mat…su…moto…why didn't she talk to me?"

"She did!" the shopkeeper said, exasperated. "She was in a hurry, asked you to not miss the opening ceremony…"

"Duh…I woke up early today…"

"Early? You've been sitting here for hours!"

"WHAT?" Renji squeaked, jumping up.

"Kami…_what_ were you dreaming about…there's exactly 5 minutes for the ceremony to start. I'm closing the shop, get out!"

Renji ran out of the shop cursing his stupidity (the shopkeeper, cursing Renji, was behind him, though nowhere as fast).

…...

He made it in time. It took a miracle, three rocks and a lost chicken, but Renji made it.

The fair was spread over a large area – the old training grounds of the Shinigami Academy. Renji passed many stalls all covered with veils before he reached the centre of the grounds. He reached just as Matsumoto was climbing up the elevated platform that was decorated to look like a stage. There was a huge crowd around the stage and Renji struggled to the front, using his position as Vice-Captain to elbow people aside. He knew Matsumoto would burn him alive if he wasn't there in the front along with the rest of the group.

"You're so lucky the Chief Guest is late…" a low voice rasped next to him

"Hello to you too, baldy" Renji huffed back

Ikkaku probably had a smart response to that, but Matsumoto started speaking

"Minna-San!" The crowd hooted, cheered and waved and Matsumoto grinned at them, waving for silence. "Welcome to the grand opening of the first ever 'Fun and Festivities' Fair! Our urm…_dear,…"_ Here Renji heard murderous intent in her voice "…most dear Chief Guest is going to be delayed by another 5 minutes. So while we wait for him, let's take a moment to go over the day's events. First, you should know that there are scores of different stalls for activities, games, shopping, recreation, food, etc. we will be holding competitions at regular intervals. The first competition today is a Sword-Play competition!"

Everyone started cheering again

"Our next competition is the radical, super fun "Hottest Officer" competition…the men will go first, then the women…" the rest of the sentence was drowned out by the loudest cheer yet. Renji however felt his stomach drop. The mention of the competition reminded him of the conversation he had had with Byakuya. He wondered why he hadn't received any instructions or a message yet and when Byakuya would summon him.

Then, with another jolt, he remembered that Rikichi had dropped by the breakfast shop earlier saying something about a competition…had he been looking for Renji? Maybe he'd tried delivering Byakuya's message and it hadn't gotten through, what with Renji spacing out and all…

Renji moved to his left, avoiding collision with a rather enthusiastic Shinigami. He intended to seek Rikichi out and ask him. But he hadn't taken a step forward when there was a commotion and a loud 'pop' from the stage.

The place was streaming with balloons and floating, glittering things. People pressed forward, trying to get a closer look. In the centre of the stage was a cloud of blue smoke which cleared to reveal the smug face of none other than Urahara Kisuke.

"…and here he is, Urahara Kisuke! _Dear_ Urahara-san has set up a candy shop which will floor every single one of you! Everyone gets free, complimentary candy to taste!"

Renji was staring with his mouth open. He remained like that for 5 seconds before deciding that, right then, he didn't care. He was spacing out too much anyway. He would be better off finding Rikichi and knowing what the message was.

"_**If there was one…"**_

…...

Earlier in the morning, Renji had been full of cheer and positivity. Now he resembled an anaemic marathon runner. He had never had so much difficulty in tracking another person before. Everyone he asked seemed to have seen Rikichi just moments ago and yet Renji kept missing him.

Apart from the fact that he was exhausted, his ego hurt too – how could he, Abarai Fukutaichou, not find a puny ant like Rikichi?

Renji grumbled as he made his way back into the fair area. He decided he would have some candy. At least it would cheer him up a little bit. He dug into his pockets for money as he walked but then remembered what Matsumoto had said about free candy.

Renji flash-stepped all the way to Urahara's Candy Stall.

Of course, when he reached there he realised that he should have come by the place right in the beginning. It was not the fact that Rikichi was behind the counter that made him think that. It was the expression on Urahara's face – it seemed to clearly say that he knew Renji had been searching for Rikichi and he had purposefully detained him by giving him the task of shop assistant.

"Abarai Fukutaichou! Good Morning!"

"Renji…Freeloader-san, nice to see you come by…"

"Hello squirt! I'm going to kill you… Hello Urahara-San…I'm not here for freeloading…"

"Come now, Renji…don't be so harsh on an innocent old man…"

Yeah, right! The devil was more innocent than Urahara, Renji was sure of that much. The old geezer was known for meddling in everything. But Renji didn't have time for that

"Hai…urm, Rikichi…did Kuchiki Taichou have a message for me?"

"Huh? For you…yeah! He asked me to tell you to attend the 2nd competition today…"

"Oh...okay…" Renji was so relieved he finally knew what to do that he forgot to carry out his plan of promised painful death to Rikichi. But the relief was short-lived:

"…By the way, Renji-San, you might want to hurry. The second competition begins in about 5 minutes…" Urahara said, tilting his head slightly. Renji didn't miss the smile though.

And he was running again.

When Renji did reach the venue of the 2nd competition, he thought for a wild moment that Byakuya was playing a prank on him. This was what Matsumoto had been announcing earlier. He had been running the whole day, he looked like shit and there he was, right at the "Hottest Officer" competition – did Byakuya intend him to participate after all? Like a surprise thing…

"_**Who the hell are you kidding…Byakuya and 'surprise things'?"**_

There was nothing else he could do. Renji found a corner nearest to the stage and prepared to sit out the competition. At least he would be following orders…

The crowd around him kept growing. Just as roguish behaviour was about to ensue, Matsumoto appeared on the stage. Renji's – and the rest of the men's – jaw dropped: Matsumoto was wearing an extremely small, tight denim skirt and a black leather sleeveless jacket. The zip was fastened at her navel, exposing _way_ more skin than she usually did (she was wearing a tube inside but that hardly covered anything). Renji knew she was dressed in 'human' style from firsthand experience – he had spent long enough time in Karakura to identify clothing styles. But most of the rest of the crowd had only seen 'human-world' fashion through books and magazines published by the Shinigami Women's Association and for them, it was a rare treat.

"Minna-san! Welcome to the second event today – the 'Hottest Officer' competition!" Matsumoto's voice echoed throughout the grounds and the howling and whistling dropped down a notch.

"You win!"

Someone yelled from the middle and the noise level shot up again with people showing their approval in ways ranging from subtle to outright inappropriate. Half the crowd was made up of women and they cheered too, with only a few choosing to be content with clapping politely.

Renji, distracted by all the noise, was soon howling and cheering along with the rest. Matsumoto, for once, seemed to tolerate the disorder. She grinned down at everyone and then caught Renji's eye.

Renji winked and Matsumoto's grin grew wider. She looked away but not before shaking her head. Renji paused in his cheering, wondering what was wrong with her. She would have generally responded with an even bigger wink, perhaps a bow too. But she looked like she was smirking at him and as if she knew something he didn't – something that concerned him greatly.

Renji was so lost in thought, trying to connect this and the day's happenings, that he didn't see Matsumoto leave the stage and only jerked out of the trance when the music, which had been playing in the background, got loud.

"First participant, everyone: Zaraki Kenpachi Taichou!"

"_**WHAT?"**_

Sure enough, there he was – Zaraki was wearing a full black tux with a neat little rose tucked in the breast pocket. He looked lean, thin almost, without the layers of Captain's clothing. His lieutenant was as usual comfortably perched on his shoulder. Yachiru wore a little black frock-dress. One look at both their faces and you could tell that the whole thing was her idea and that Zaraki had had, as usual, no choice but to go through with it.

The captain was scowling so heavily that the crowd almost all but fell silent. _**"Which is probably a wise thing…"**_ thought Renji as he chewed nervously on his lower lip. _**"Not the best captain to irritate…"**_

Then Yachiru whispered something into Zaraki's ear. Zaraki plucked the rose out of the pocket and suddenly swooping down to kneel on one knee, he offered it to a woman closest to the stage. Stunned, she took it and a second late, fainted clean. Yachiru started chuckling in mirth and Renji couldn't help smile – the kid was obviously enjoying herself. Zaraki seemed to think so too for a smile now replaced the scowl.

"More, more!" Yachiru squealed, clapping her hands. She had jumped off his shoulder and was now sitting on a table set on the stage for props.

Zaraki obliged by removing the jacket of his tux in one smooth move and slugging it over his shoulder. Then, leaning back slightly by putting weight on one leg, he struck a pose.

Renji's jaw dropped to the ground even as he dazedly registered that the crowd was once again cheering. Yachiru seemed content with Zaraki's act and she was back on his shoulder – they exited as smoothly as they had appeared and the applause grew louder.

"_**Easier to clap when you're not peeing your pants, I guess…"**_ Renji thought

From off-stage, Matsumoto's voice boomed as she announced the next name: "Yumichika Ayasegawa!"

The crowd started clapping louder, if that was possible – everyone knew Yumichika liked beauty pageants…

Yumichika didn't disappoint his admirers either – he was dressed in a purple dress which looked like a shihakusho except that it had longer, billowing sleeves and was open all the way down till his waist. Yumichika had a white and purple fan with him and he strutted about the stage fanning himself, tossing his head about and barely managing to keep the dress from slipping off. He was an instant hit and Renji had to admit, quite "hot". He briefly wondered where Ikkaku was as Yumichika left the stage. But he didn't have to wait for long as Matsumoto's clear voice rang out that very name.

Madarame earned quite a few laughs in the beginning – but he took is all sportily. He was wearing a kind of ornate pyjamas and was topless. He also had a sword in either hand and he swung them about, performing a complicated combo of attacks. By the time he was done, everyone was in awe and Renji was making a mental note to ask him where he learnt a few of those moves.

Renji was by now sorely wishing he had been able to participate – it was embarrassing, but was definitely worth the fun. _**"Damn Byakuya…"**_

Matsumoto's voice was back even as Renji was cursing silently.

"…And now ladies and gentlemen, we have a highly esteemed captain, participating for the first time in any competition I've ever organised, I might add, though of course, if you count the break in through the koi pond…" Matsumoto sounded excited

"Urm…Matsumoto-san…" it was a small, tentative voice that sounded a lot like Rikichi and Renji had a moment to wonder why that was disturbing

"…Ah, right…right…like I was saying, put your hands together for the 6th Squad Taichou Kuchiki Byakuya!"

"WHAT?"

He wasn't the only one who had exclaimed – almost everyone around Renji was looking incredulous and shocked, expressions of disbelief pasted all over their faces. Something in Renji's brain clicked into place, some puzzle solved itself, but he couldn't make head or tail of it – Renji was dumbstruck as he stared at the stage.

Kuchiki Byakuya walked onto the stage coolly, looking as if he had been walking on ramps all his life. He was dressed in a slightly loose, white shirt and black trousers. Simple enough, normal, formal clothing – except Byakuya looked hot as hell in it: his hair, free of any adornment, was in a casual plait draped over his shoulder onto the front of his shirt. The bangs on either side of his face were loose, as were several buttons on his shirt. His generally ageless face looked unbelievably younger.

Renji, absorbing all this in and yet processing nothing, was still frozen.

Byakuya must have used kido for the table in the corner glided noiselessly across the stage, coming to a stop right in the front. Byakuya walked around it, hands in his pockets. The table was right behind him now and he leaned against it, casually, coolly.

For all the world, it seemed like he had just struck a pose. The people around Renji hesitated for about half a second and then burst into applause. Renji didn't move a muscle.

Byakuya was doing something: he reached into his trouser pocket and pulled out something small and crinkly.

"_**A prop"**_ Renji's numb brain registered.

The 'prop' turned out to be chocolate. Half melted rich chocolate. And there, in plain sight of the entire Gotei 13 and others from neighbouring areas, Byakuya started eating the chocolate in probably the most provocative way that anyone could have ever eaten chocolate.

This time it just wasn't Renji who was struck silent in shock. Nobody moved, nobody breathed; everybody watched Kuchiki Byakuya.

It was a small bar and Byakuya finished half of it in the first bite. He seemed totally at ease as he chewed. A very pink tongue darted out to lick a stray dot of chocolate from his lips and that's when Renji stirred.

"_**No way…absolutely no way…"**_ His heart raced as his mind tried to deny the unbelievable explanation for Byakuya's behaviour that had suddenly struck him. _**"There's no way you're doing this because of what happened…You're not doing this for me… right Taichou…?"**_

As if in answer to his silent, almost-hopeful question Byakuya suddenly looked up, straight at Renji. Renji promptly turned into stone once again. The noble's normally cool eyes burned with all the mysteries of life, the universe and plain, sentient desire. Byakuya held Renji's gaze for the shortest moment ever before he dropped his eyes and started licking his now chocolate covered fingers.

Renji looked away too, his face burning red. You would have to be a blind fool to not realise Byakuya's message after all that show. He dimly registered that the crowd was cheering once again, screaming Byakuya's name. Renji was perfectly certain that while everyone present would have been turned on by Byakuya's little display, nobody would have noticed anything else.

Still he couldn't get himself to believe it. Would Kuchiki Byakuya really do something like that for him, for a stray dog like Renji? Even if he would, maybe it was just Byakuya's elaborate way of saying that Renji's behaviour didn't offend him; that Renji shouldn't be embarrassed about the insignificant thing that had happened that day in the office.

But if that was the case, what was the fire burning in him? Renji let out a breath of air he didn't know he was holding. That _look_ had been _only_ for Renji; Renji was certain of that much.

Someone pushed into him and Renji once again awoke to the reality around him. The crowd was going especially wild: Ukitake Taichou was on the stage now.

"_**Where's Byakuya? How long have I been…?"**_

Cursing, Renji quickly pushed his way out of the crowd, no more interested in the competition or anything else for that matter. He had to find Byakuya.

...

Will update *very very* soon!

I know i've been too bad an author to expect reviews, but still...hehe  
If it wasn't for you guys, i'd have given up and taken medicine for a living...  
:P

Moonlitpride


	8. The Kuchiki Mansion II

**AN: Okay, so I understand how long it has been and I'm acutely aware of how much I'm going to burn in hell. But since all that's going to happen anyway, just read this one (ducks as a shoe flies by, nearly missing an ear) and i promise i'm going to update regularly (not fast enough, catches the other shoe in the face)...ugh!**

**wad i mead is dat (profuse nose bleeding) i'be gumbleded dhe stody..sthory...story, dabbit! Ad now only hab to updade...(faints)**

**-Moonlitpride**

* * *

**CHAPTER 8: THE KUCHIKI MANSION II**

**(Renji's POV)**

Things were not going very well for Renji. He had been so intent on finding Byakuya just a few minutes ago. Now, as he shunpo-ed to the 6th Squad building, he was beginning to have serious doubts about the whole thing.

"_**Kami…I know I won't be able to stand looking at him without knowing one way or the other. But, what right do I have to assume…"**_

Logically, it all made sense in the wackiest of ways possible: Byakuya had done in public what Renji had been embarrassed doing in front of him. But what if his captain didn't mean anything by it; what if Byakuya had just, in a fit of inspiration, decided to lick his fingers as way of performing in the competition.

"_**Another thing that beats the shit out of me – if he didn't mean it for…whatever, why would he take part in that stupid competition at all?"**_

Renji was slowing down as he reached his destination. The chances of Byakuya being present in office while a fair was going on was quite high, even after his surprise participation. Everyone knew that man was a workaholic. Of course, the other option would be the Kuchiki Mansion but Renji dared not even think of confronting him there.

"_**So is that what I'm going to do…confront him; confront **_**the **_**Kuchiki Byakuya?"**_ Renji sweat-dropped at the thought. He was walking now, already in the long corridor that led to the office. He was nearly at the door when he slowed down. Renji could hear voices: Byakuya's and at least two other people's. They were unfamiliar voices and almost instinctively Renji found himself disliking them.

"…_So, now it all comes out in the open, eh Kuchiki-Sama?"_ Said unknown voice no.1

"…_Meaning?" _Byakuya's voice, calm and with a hint of something very close to defiance

"_Meaning you have lost it! Do we have to remind you – first you marry a girl off the street, then you adopt her sister and make some street rat your vice-captain. You also refuse to remarry. And now, now this…this…_outrageous_ display at a public fair…do you even know what the rumours say?" _the unknown voice no.2 had a thin, waspish quality to it and Renji wondered how Byakuya could remain calm after what had been said.

"_I hardly have the…_leisure_…that you so obviously enjoy, Alto-San. I don't need to occupy myself with rumours to keep me busy…"_ Byakuya sounded cool as a cucumber.

"_**Did Byakuya just dis that man?"**_ He knew he was eavesdropping but he couldn't help it – he really wanted to know what Byakuya would say to the people in the office; people who sounded a lot like they belonged to the Kuchiki clan.

"_Oh, we heard about that too….You are quite occupied with something new, aren't you Kuchiki-Sama…?"_

"_You mean, _'someone'_ new, Alto-san…"_ the voice that had spoken first

Byakuya must have started losing patience for he said:

"_I am busy. Please leave and if you wish to blow this up, by all means feel free to do so at the next clan meeting…"_

Renji quickly and quietly slipped past the door and into the next room: he had heard movement from behind the office doors and knew that the 'nobles' would be leaving soon. He could still hear muffled bits of conversation but not clearly enough to grip what they were saying. Then suddenly he heard the door swing open. Renji held his breath, though he knew that Byakuya at least would know he was around. He just hoped his captain was too irate too notice.  
The nobles must have stepped out because Renji could hear what they were saying once again:

"_Remember Kuchiki-sama: do not drag our clan's pride and honour into mud by getting involved with another one of your charity cases…"_

"_You will do well by maintaining a respectable distance from filth, Kuchiki-Sama. That Fuku-taichou of yours…"_

There was a moment of thick, tense silence before Byakuya answered

"_I don't get involved with filth. Anyone I am close to would be infinitely more worthy than most of the clan put together."_ The sound of a door swinging shut and indignant gasps followed Byakuya's declaration.

"_**Must have used kiddo to close the door in their faces…"**_ Renji was quiet as he stared into the darkness. Byakuya's words were cutting through him. More worthy than the clan? Renji snorted, no more concerned that he might be discovered. Who had he been kidding…

"_**I should have known…"**_ a savage, painful, cruel war waged silently inside him for about 2 seconds before he turned to the window in the room and flash-stepped through it. After a whole day of running around, Renji was running again. Except, this time he had nowhere to go.

* * *

**(Byakuya's POV)**

Byakuya took a whole 2 minutes to compose himself. Sure he had been calm on the outside, but on the inside he had been seething with rage. The nerve and pompous insensitivity of the Kuchiki Elders never ceased to amaze him. He knew he would have a fair amount of answering to do later on.

"_**Probably sooner than later…"**_

He had just, for the first time, actually spelt out that anyone he chose to be 'involved' would be more valuable to him than a set of stiff-backed greybeards. He had openly thrown them a challenge. Of course, it didn't mean everything was going to drastically change. But he had changed what mattered and this time he had been loud and vocal about it.

Byakuya was breathing evenly now and he realised that _another_ presence had also vanished.

"_**Renji…"**_

He had known that Renji had joined them; that he was listening to everything. And he had wanted Renji to hear it all. But now he was confused: where had the redhead disappeared to again? Byakuya had strong enough instincts to know that Renji hadn't left happily. The cold, empty walls around him radiated unexplainable but definite heartbreak. Byakuya stood up. He was still dressed in the clothes from the competition and as he changed into a spare set of captain's robes from the office stores, he pondered over what had happened; over what could have possibly hurt Renji this time.

"_**Was it, God forbid, something I said?"**_ Byakuya thought back and then it struck him. _**"Kami, you'd have to be a fool to misread a sentence like that…!"**_

Well, whoever said Renji wasn't a fool…?

Byakuya sighed as he made his way out of the building, moving fast and yet appearing to be in no hurry. He had been, admittedly, slightly nervous about meeting Renji after his little 'show'. He was certain about Renji's feelings towards him but it still was a first for him. Now, that nervousness was all gone and he cringed as he pictured Renji hurt and alone. He had to find him. In this case, it wasn't that difficult – the brash fuku-taichou's spirit energy was still present in traces and Byakuya followed it without a second thought. He realised he was moving in the opposite direction from the fair.

Two minutes later, he knew where he was headed to – there was an old, out-of-order playground just on the border of Sereitei and the outer cities. It was used as a spare training area in case the official training grounds were otherwise occupied.

Byakuya took the turn ahead and sure enough, he could now feel Renji's reiatsu. If spiritual energy could be given a voice, Renji's would probably have been howling. Byakuya approached the gates cautiously, masking his own reiatsu. Renji's back was towards Byakuya – he was 'training' all on his own. He seemed to be exerting enough force and energy to defeat at least a 100 hollows simultaneously though there was a marked change in his usual technique: he was swinging Zabimaru around wildly.

"You're wasting enough energy to kill yourself without any outside help, Abarai Fuku-taichou." Byakuya said as he entered the playground, loosening Senbonzakura from its sheath as he walked.

Renji stopped moving, though he didn't turn around.

"I could still take you out before I drop." He challenged and without any other warning, turned and charged at Byakuya. Of course, Byakuya had been expecting it and he blocked the attack. What Byakuya hadn't been expecting was the force behind the blow and he was pushed back several feet with the impact. Renji's expression was difficult to take in: there was unbelievable pain and anger in his eyes as he swung his Zanpakutou and attacked Byakuya again. This time the noble was ready for it and he swung back at Renji. They crossed swords for a few seconds more before Byakuya's patience ran out.

"_**You really **_**will**_** kill yourself if you keep this up, Abarai Renji…"**_

* * *

**(Renji's POV)**

Byakuya used substantially more force in the next blow and Renji growled as he was pushed off balance. Before he could recover, Byakuya used Kidou to knock him over. If Renji had been sparring with his senses intact, that move would never have got him. Byakuya was now beside him and he knocked the sword out of his hands. Renji was on his feet at once, still staggering from the fall. He charged at Byakuya nonetheless, barehanded. Byakuya put his Zanpakutou away, blocking Renji's fist with his left hand.

"Enough, Renji. Stop acting like a child…"

"FUCK YOU!" Renji yelled as he threw another punch to Byakuya's right side. He knew Byakuya was holding back, was being careful not to hurt him and that just infuriated him more.

The next thing Renji knew, he was pushed up against some hard surface, unable to move his arms or legs. Byakuya had him pinned against the restroom wall, quite a distance away from where they had been fighting.

"_**Damn, he's fast…"**_

Renji looked at Byakuya, his anger quickly giving way to despair. The noble was surveying him silently. But his normally impassive gaze was replaced by one that burned with concern and something else that Renji didn't want to believe.

"Care repeating that, Abarai Fuku-taichou?" Byakuya asked, his voice calm and not echoing any of the emotion in his eyes.

Renji's eyes narrowed as something snapped in him.

"Fuck you" he repeated, quietly this time, trying to goad Byakuya into losing his cool. He started struggling against Byakuya again, trying to not think of how close together they were standing.

Byakuya moved forward smoothly, leaning over Renji. He didn't loosen his grip one bit as he spoke, his warm breath blowing against Renji's ear and sending little electric pulses up and down his spine

"Wouldn't you like to, Renji? But you need to calm down first…"

Renji swallowed. No, he wouldn't be fooled again. "Stop messing around, Taichou" he said, almost choking with the fear and pain that was welling up in him.

Byakuya pulled back to look at Renji with mild disapproval.

"I don't 'mess around', Abarai. I am quite certain I have told you so before…" and with no other warning or sign, Byakuya pressed his lips to Renji's. Renji went blank. All he could register was that something he hardly dared dream about was happening; that the warmest, softest pair of lips were moving against his. Byakuya pulled away the next instant, before Renji could respond in kind. "…However, I do feel I owe you an explanation."

Renji stared at Byakuya for a whole 2 seconds before he realised that he wasn't being pinned down anymore. Words failed him as he glared at something he had always considered unattainable. He could read nothing but sincerity in Byakuya's eyes; sincerity and concern. Renji's eyes flicked down to Byakuya's lips and he felt his face heat up.

"_**Kami…did he just really…?"**_

"It is most unadvisable to space out in the middle of nowhere. Come, let's go…" Byakuya turned away and Renji could have sworn the man was smiling. Byakuya took a few steps before Renji found his voice

"Wait…!"

Byakuya paused, looking over his shoulder

"I…you…Just now, you can't just….this is RIDICULOUS!" Renji roared, well aware that his face probably outdid the colour of his hair. Byakuya's trademark frown was back as he glared at Renji

"Pick up your sword and come…"

"But…you…YOU JUST KISSED ME!" Renji sputtered

And for the first time that day, Byakuya's face coloured ever so slightly. But of course, when he spoke, his voice barely rose above the sound of the wind

"We are not going to stand here and discuss this any further, Renji. Now unless you want to spend the next year painting the whole of Sereitei, I suggest you pick your Zanpakutou and follow me."

Renji stared at the back of his Captain's head, dumbstruck as the man coolly continued walking as if nothing out of ordinary had happened.

* * *

**AN - Hehe...okay, so there it is...and I know that's a kind of cliffhanger again...but the next one's right on it's way, with cookies inside, if you get my drift...**  
**Moonlitpride**


	9. The Kuchiki Mansion: III

**A/N:**Okaaaay! So I have absolutely no excuses. I can't even say I'm dying of some irreversible genetic disease (because i'm not). But it's here now. And I refuse to let this fanfic rot like the Teen Titans one i started years ago (and am yet to complete).

My dear reviewers - you guys have kept me faithful! And **52057060 - **your comments are brilliant and I'm most grateful for them!

Thank you and all my love to **b3yondimaginations**, **Yatasaki, Ivy Jane Backer, toadstooldevil, Wraith Fan, e2tavi, SpookyWeasel **(you good person, you), **Tsukikasai, Fox Sin, Totoromo** (Have I mentioned that you're brilliant?), **Ichibanseiken, nlsdn5, **and i could go on and on!

(Please don't take offence if i've missed you out - i was just naming people from the first page and others i remembered and you're all so magnificent, i just want you to read the rest of the story before the world ends! Even if you hate it, it will give me peace!)

Also, if I complete this (which is very close to completion - only 3 chapters more), I will treat myself by starting a NaruSasu one. What say?

Read on, read on!

* * *

**CHAPTER 9: The Kuchiki Mansion III**

**(RENJI POV)**

Renji briefly wondered if he had hit his head during his 'self-training' session and was knocked out.

"_**I **_**must **_**be dreaming…"**_

He was back in the Kuchiki Mansion. He had had no other choice, at least none that he had wanted to take. He had trudged alongside his Captain, almost in a daze. They had walked in silence mostly and Renji hadn't dared ask where they were headed to or what would happen next. He had decided that he was done trying to figure things out – either he would wake up to find this was all a dream or any minute, a Hollow would come and swallow him up whole. But neither event had happened and soon he had found himself entering familiar, sweet smelling gardens. Before he knew it, he was in the Kuchiki Mansion.

Byakuya's personal staff didn't even bat an eyelid as he asked them to find fresh clothes for Renji and direct him to the washroom. A young boy, dressed in Kuchiki apprentice robes stepped forward.

"Ah. Sano. Direct Abarai Fuku-taichou to one of the guest quarters please." Byakuya turned to Renji and continued speaking "Sano is one of the elder's grandsons. He is my apprentice"

As if Renji was in a state to process small talk. He watched blankly as Byakuya disappeared behind one of the many doors in the corridor outside the entrance hall. Then he remembered that someone was standing next to him, waiting to show him to the bath. He turned and blindly followed the boy who led him to what must have been Guest quarters. The boy was telling him something regarding various potions and lotions but Renji wasn't listening. He just nodded and bowed his head in thank you. Then he stepped into the attached washroom, stripped and got into the bath. Mechanically, he undid the tie holding up his hair.

Renji only started noticing his surroundings after about 2 minutes of idling in the bath. Kuchiki Byakuya's washroom sure reflected all of his nobility, wealth and graceful style.

Trying not to think of how heavenly the noble would look bare of all clothes and relaxing in the same tub, Renji looked around at the various bottles that were lined next to the bath.

"_**Might as well smell nice when I can…"**_ he thought, reaching out for the nearest one

* * *

When Renji woke up, he realised two things – one, the water had gone completely cold and two, judging by the light coming in through the window, he had been sleeping for _quite_ some time.

"Damn!"

Cursing, he stepped out of the bath, grabbed a towel hanging close by and rushed out of the washroom. He noticed for the first time that the room was beautiful and grand without being gaudy. The futon was different from the normal ones they all used…it was slightly raised and was wide enough for two people. There was a pair of clean pyjamas folded at the foot of the futon. There was also a black silk ribbon. Renji dried himself and pulled the house-robes on.

"_**Silk…I don't like silk…**_" He thought, staring at the ribbon. Now Renji had absolutely nothing against silk. He just couldn't stand the idea that Byakuya had foreseen that he'd need something to tie up his hair. He used the ribbon to tie his hair anyway and grumbling, decided to venture out of the room.

He had barely stepped out when he ran into the boy from earlier.

"Gomenai, Abarai Fuku-taichou. I came to fetch you for dinner…"

"Dinner!?"

"Hai…you've been…urm…bathing…for a very long time. It's nearly 7pm and Kuchiki-Sama insists on an early dinner today"

Renji flushed. Byakuya was going to kill him for delaying so much. He also realised that he was starving. He had skipped lunch in the midst of all that chaos. Renji followed the boy to the dining room, trying to keep track of the way. After the fourth turn and second corridor, he gave up. He didn't have to wait long though – the next turn brought them into a compact, decent-sized room. Renji's breath caught in his throat: two mats were laid next to a low table and Byakuya was already seated on one of them. Renji somehow hadn't processed that he would be dining with Byakuya. Not that they hadn't eaten together before – they did after all spend a large part of their time either doing reports together or fighting bad guys, again together. But this was different. Byakuya, again, had his hair loose and unadorned. He was wearing clothes similar to what Renji had put on.

Byakuya looked up with a most irritated expression on his face and Renji scratched the back of his neck nervously. He suddenly remembered Byakuya's lips on his and looked away, flushing mildly.

"Sit, Renji – or are you planning on another little nap before that…?"

"I…was tired…" Renji managed lamely, as he sat opposite Byakuya awkwardly.

"You used a sedative."

"What!?" Renji looked at Byakuya, shocked. Before Byakuya could answer, food arrived…carried on two simple platters which were smoothly placed before Byakuya and Renji. The attendants left immediately after and Renji asked again: "What do you mean sedative?"

"Meaning you weren't listening to Sano when he was giving you the instructions regarding the potions. The purple and blue coloured ones are sedatives which work through the skin…" Byakuya said calmly as he spooned some soup into his mouth. "…They are used for their medicinal properties."

"Oh…well…I didn't know…" Renji muttered, unable to meet Byakuya's eyes. Byakuya didn't say anything to that and Renji ate in silence. He was hungry and any other time, he would have been loudly praising the excellent food. Now, he just ate without lifting his head, lost, partly in thought, partly in the act of eating. There were cinnamon sticks in a corner of his plate. He guessed it was an after-meal mouth freshener or something. He didn't care. Renji loved cinnamon sticks and he started chewing on one. When he finally did look up, he gave a start: Byakuya had finished and was now quietly observing him. This time Renji didn't look away, a frown forming on his forehead. He supposed Byakuya would start on something about eating food in proper order

"I don't care" Byakuya said

"Wh…What?" Renji stammered, thrown off guard. Had Byakuya actually just said "I don't care"? Maybe the man could actually read minds, Renji thought, gulping at the notion and trying to any clear any _extreme _thoughts from his subconscious.

"I don't care what you eat or how you choose to eat it or for that matter, anything else in that vein, about you." Byakuya's gaze didn't falter as he continued "I am not ashamed of you, Renji. I have never been and I never will be. Back in the office, when I said the people I choose to be involved with are more worthy than the clan, I meant that they, no matter who they are, would be people who mean more than anything else to me"

"I…I didn't mean to listen, Taichou…" Renji felt the familiar heat rise up his neck and face.

"Of course you did." Byakuya said, not missing a beat. Renji flushed deeper at that. "And I meant you to hear me. But you ran away…"

Renji looked away. He had been steeling himself to tell something to his captain – it was all he had been thinking about as he had followed Sano to the dining area. Before he could say anything the attendants re-entered, this time to clear the platters. Byakuya stood up and Renji followed suit.

"Taichou…I…I understand better than anyone else…most anyone else…that you have certain obligations…and you can't afford to…" Renji's voice cracked here and he swallowed, willing himself to not break in front of his captain "…to do anything rash…even if it's what you want…I don't want you to...the Elders, I don't want you to..." Renji looked at Byakuya now, not knowing how to continue. He couldn't complete his sentence, he couldn't tell Byakuya that he was okay with any decision the noble took, even if it meant they'd never be together in any sense. Because if he did, he knew the lack of conviction in such a sentiment would show plainly through any exterior he tried to put up. At the same time, Renji couldn't work out for the life of him how Byakuya was going to deal with whatever would follow if they got together, now that he knew Byakuya returned his feelings…

"_**Kami, do you really…?"**_

Renji coloured again, but didn't look away this time. Byakuya face was smooth but his eyes showed unexplainable inner turmoil. Then they cleared and Byakuya shook his head slowly, smiling. Renji was again struck by the way his lips curled, still finding it difficult to believe that he had kissed those lips. _**"And now we're sitting here talking calmly…well, not exactly calmly…guess we aren't talking that much either…"**_ Byakuya wasn't saying anything and Renji didn't know what else to say.

"Do you love me, Renji?" when Byakuya talked again, Renji jerked with surprise. He felt something tighten in his chest as he stared into almost-black orbs that were glowing with emotion. How many people had witnessed Byakuya like that? How many people knew that his eyes sometimes betrayed a portion of the emotion that his cold voice always masked?

Renji couldn't bring himself to answer immediately. And yet, when he responded, he couldn't say anything but the truth:

"Yes" he breathed, so quietly that he wondered whether Byakuya heard at all.

Renji would never understand how his captain always moved so quickly: Byakuya was suddenly so close that Renji could see every strand of his thick, dark eyelashes. If he hadn't been frozen to his spot, he would have lifted a hand to the noble's face to find out if his skin was really as smooth as it looked. Then Byakuya touched his cheek and he stiffened, trying hard to resist leaning in to the touch.

"Then you should know: I love you too, Abarai Renji. And that is all that matters…" Byakuya almost whispered in Renji's ear. They stayed like that for a second, neither ready to move away, neither completely convinced that it was that easy. Then Byakuya's fingers moved from Renji's cheek to his neck, tracing invisible patterns. Renji held his breath, heart thumping like crazy. He didn't know what the rules were from this point on but he knew if he wasn't careful, years of suppressed desire would break the delicate control that he had.

Then Byakuya was moving away again and Renji almost sighed at the loss of contact. Byakuya was at the door and he gestured to Renji

"The 1st room down the corridor to the left has been prepared for you. Get some rest." Byakuya's scowl returned "Unfortunately or fortunately, it seems you were right about that participation form that Matsumoto Rangiku had me fill – Squad 6 is in charge of order tomorrow and I would much prefer if you were awake and sane during duty."

* * *

Renji hesitated for a split second before charging out to stop Byakuya. But he was nowhere to be seen. Cursing, he made his way to the room. It was a normal sized room with just the essential things needed for sleeping. When Renji collapsed onto the futon, he realised that it wasn't _normal_ at all.

"_**Soft…what, have they stuffed it with clouds?"**_

He stared at the ceiling knowing he wasn't going to get any sleep. He could feel Byakuya's reiatsu quite close by and wondered whether the room was close to Byakuya's.

A few days ago, lying down on his own futon in his quarters, Renji had wondered whether he stood a chance at all. Today, Byakuya had kissed him, confessed to him and given him a room for the night in the very house he himself stayed in.

"_**Maybe it's still all a dream…"**_

But no dream had ever felt this acute – being so close to Byakuya had made Renji hyper-sensitive of everything around him. He turned to his side and closed his eyes. But all he could think of was Byakuya kissing him, of being pressed so tight against him…of touching more of that pearl-like skin, of finding out what he tasted like past those sinful lips…

Renji groaned silently. Within minutes, he was very, _very_ aroused.

"_**If Byakuya knew, he'd probably kick me out right away…"**_ But Renji knew that that wasn't the whole truth. Byakuya had let quite a lot slip through his mask, a mask that hardly seemed to exist anymore in front of Renji. _**"And I'll be damned if that wasn't want in your eyes…"**_

Flipping on to his back again, Renji slowly blew out air through his lips, trying to gather some form of control. Earlier, sitting right next to Byakuya, Renji hadn't even thought about anything beyond what the noble would say. Now that the air was cleared, now that there was a new acceptance between them, it suddenly seemed so much harder to not think about _other_ things, to not _want_.

Renji sighed as he imagined what it would have felt like had Byakuya not stopped, had Byakuya moved his fingers lower, past his neck…

Renji knew his reiatsu was going haywire and decided it couldn't possibly get any worse, no matter what he did. He knew he wasn't getting any sleep without resolving his _problem_ and so, against all better judgement, he shut his eyes and slipped his hand into the loose night-robe that he was wearing. He ran his fingers loosely down his chest, catching a nipple on the way. He knew he had to be quick but he couldn't help lingering: He imagined if Byakuya was the one touching him, he would take it slow…

Renji suppressed a groan when he finally pushed his hand under his pyjamas. He was already hard and slick. He closed his fingers around his member and tugged, more roughly than he had intended to. He couldn't stop the small gasp that escaped him this time. Renji bit down on his lower lip, very much aware of how easily he could be discovered. A vision of Byakuya from the fair, licking his fingers, flashed through Renji's mind and he groaned audibly. His eyes slid shut, back arching off the futon as he pumped himself steadily.

If Renji had been in his senses, a big "if" of late, he would have noticed the sudden proximity of another reiatsu. But his eyes were shut and he was lost in pleasure. He didn't realise anything till the sound of the sliding-doors being opened reached him. Renji froze, eyes snapping open. Byakuya was looking down at him, framed against the faint light from the corridor.

They stared at each other for a whole second, Byakuya calm, almost amused and Renji flushed red and breathing heavily. Wordlessly, Byakuya stepped in, closing the door behind him. He then muttered something that sounded a lot like an incantation. A blue light glowed for a minute around the room and then disappeared.

"It won't do to disturb the entire Mansion, will it now?" Byakuya muttered. His eyes raked down Renji's body and Renji, coming out of shock, hastily pulled his hand out of his pyjamas and sat up, trying hard to hide the obvious bulge.

"_**Oh fuck! Am I even going to have a chance to explain this…"**_ Renji didn't know what to expect. He was mortified beyond imaginable measures and yet still very aroused. Even if Byakuya had heard nothing, seen nothing, he still would have been able to make out from Renji's appearance. Renji didn't know what turned him on more: the thought that Byakuya had caught him in the act or the act itself.

"Taichou…" he winced as a new wave of embarrassment flooded through him. And then, impossibly soft fingers were turning his face, forcing him to look directly at Byakuya, now kneeling by the futon. Renji felt his hardness throb at the unmasked desire he saw in those grey eyes.

"Why did you stop?" Byakuya whispered, his lips a hair's breadth away from Renji's. "I'm quite certain you're not done yet…"

Renji couldn't respond. His head was fogged by Byakuya's proximity, by their situation, by the desire that pulsed through him. But he did vaguely register that he would get back at Byakuya for putting him in the spot, however _hot_ it was! He flushed deeper when he thought about it. Byakuya sighed, and Renji was sure he was going to say something else that was probably important. But he couldn't care less…Byakuya was too close and those full, parted lips begged to be kissed. Renji had to only move an inch closer to press his lips to Byakuya's in a searing kiss that burned with urgency.

The Noble's eyes slid shut and he didn't pull away. Renji drew Byakuya's lower lip between his teeth, chewing gently before going back to kissing and nibbling. When Renji tentatively pressed the tip of his tongue against Byakuya's lips, he opened his eyes, stiffening slightly. But those grey eyes hardly showed uncertainty. The next thing he knew, Byakuya had parted his lips and soon their tongues were battling for dominance. Renji suppressed a moan as Byakuya gave way a little and he finally was able to map the corners of his mouth. Byakuya's hands tangled in Renji's hair and they pulled apart for an instance before Byakuya pressed his lips to Renji's again, giving him quick, brief wet kisses. When they stopped finally, it was only to take in deep, long breaths of air.

There was a split second in which they were looking at each other before Renji launched himself on Byakuya again, afraid that if he gave the man time to think, he would change his mind and disappear. The anxiety and disbelief that still lingered in him fuelled his actions and he placed quick, fevered kisses on Byakuya's lips, chin and neck. Renji was kneeling now, swooping over his captain, one hand curled around his neck and the other pushing down on Byakuya's chest. He traced his tongue along Byakuya's jaw-line till he reached a pale earlobe. Renji bit down on the soft flesh and felt Byakuya's breath audibly hitch.

The next thing he knew, he was on his back, Byakuya looming over him, holding him down, hands on either side of his head, one knee between Renji's legs, the other pressing against his outer thigh.

"Why are you in such a hurry?" Byakuya said, almost calmly as he nipped at Renji's ear. "Do you know how easy it is to get carried away…?" He moved his knee ever so slightly forward as he said this, briefly pressing against Renji's clothed hardness. Renji let out a small moan and tried to move but Byakuya had him pinned quite effectively.

"I…I want to get…carried…away" Renji panted. Byakuya stared down at him, unmoving and silent until Renji couldn't bear it anymore. "Taichou…please! I…don't want you to leave…"

Byakuya continued staring at Renji for a whole five seconds before his lips curled in a rare, almost-mischievous smile. Renji felt his face burn at the same time he felt his heart swell with an unexplainable feeling of joy. Byakuya moved, now almost positively grinning. He touched his lips to Renji's, pulling away before Renji could deepen the kiss and moving to his neck to place gentle, open mouthed kisses there.

"I don't think…I could…even...if I wanted to…Renji…" He said, between kisses, before straightening up. Renji became aware that Byakuya had loosened his robes so that they fell away from his torso. Byakuya's hand moved to Renji's hair, pulling off the ribbon so that waves of crimson fell free. Byakuya wasn't completely pinning Renji down anymore; his arms were free. He reached for Byakuya's face immediately, running calloused fingertips along soft, bruised lips and down the side of an almost translucent neck. His fingers brushed against the collar of Byakuya's kosode-type nightshirt and his eyes flew to Byakuya's face.

Renji wasn't totally inexperienced even if he still hadn't slept with anybody. When it came to Byakuya, he still couldn't convince himself completely that whatever was happening was really happening and he found himself hesitating again. Byakuya however, eyes locked with Renji and breathing heavily, reached for the hook that held one side of the robe against his chest. His hand covered Renji's momentarily and when he moved his hand away, the nightshirt fell loose. Renji held Byakuya's gaze for a few seconds more before tearing his eyes away to look at the newly revealed skin. He traced Byakuya's collarbone almost idly, transfixed by the beauty of the man, by his lean, frame, smooth skin and tight muscles. Renji moved his other hand to rest on Byakuya's waist as he flattened his palm against Byakuya's chest. He brushed his thumb against one hard, pert nipple, so engrossed in his exploration that he hardly felt Byakuya's body stiffen. He didn't stop the ministrations to Byakuya's nipple as his other hand moved lower from Byakuya's waist sweeping across his abdomen before dipping lower into his pyjamas. Byakuya gasped loudly and Renji's attention finally snapped. His hands froze and he looked up to see Byakuya breathing deeply, his lips parted, pupils dilated and unmoving from Renji's face.

The thought that Byakuya had been quietly watching him as he had touched and pressed his hands all over the other caused Renji to become sinfully more aroused. In an instance, his hands circled around Byakuya and pulled him down to crush their lips together. Byakuya's hands settled on Renji's chest, tracing over tattoos, ribs and nipples. He pulled away and dipped his head and Renji gasped wordlessly as Byakuya's lips closed around a nipple. In a hurry now, Renji pushed his hand down Byakuya's pyjamas again, this time brushing across his hardness and feeling Byakuya's entire body shudder above him. Still half wondering whether Byakuya would stop him, the redhead closed his hand around Byakuya's length and started a slow, steady pumping. They were pressed against each other, half-naked, sweat starting to cover their foreheads and necks as low moans escaped the two of them.

Byakuya was gasping again, but he didn't look up as he nipped and sucked at Renji's neck, shoulder and nipples. However, when Renji increased the pace, Byakuya moved up slightly to kiss him before talking

"Renji..."

Knowing he was going to protest, Renji pressed his lips to Byakuya's, pumping him faster. Byakuya tore his lips away the next instant, gasping out as he tried to control his voice level.

"...Renji...wait..."

His arm moved between them to grab Renji's hand, forcing him to a stop. Byakuya sat up, straddling Renji, his chest heaving with each breath.

"What's wrong?" Renji rasped, trying to keep irrational panic out of his voice. "You didn't..." he flushed as he tried to complete the sentence "you didn't...like it...?"

Byakuya was silent as he surveyed Renji from behind pitch black curtains of dishevelled hair. Renji thought he saw something shift in his eyes before Byakuya spoke again.

"Have you been with a man before...?" Byakuya reached out and threaded his fingers through a lock of deep red, playing with Renji's hair as he softly asked the question. His eyes were fixed on Renji's face.

"No...I..." not able to keep the truth from Byakuya, Renji blurted out quickly "I haven't been with anyone, before...I mean, I've done...stuff...but I've not..." Renji knew he was stammering and also blushing like a tomato and he cringed from the familiar feeling of embarrassment. Byakuya, however froze above Renji. He was staring down at Renji with such intensity that he flushed further, starting to frown defensively now. "What, don't freak out...I know what to do, okay...I want this."

That broke Byakuya out of his reverie and his body relaxed, shoulders dropping slightly as he closed his eyes and sighed deeply. When he still didn't say anything, Renji reached out a long, tattoo covered arm to touch his face, his momentary irritation disappearing at the uncharacteristic show of tiredness of Byakuya's part.

"It's okay if you don't want to, today, I mean...Just, stop blaming yourself"

That made Byakuya open his eyes and look at Renji. He also seemed close to smiling and Renji started frowning again.

"What would I blame myself for, Renji?"

"I...don't know..." Renji huffed "But there's always something, ne Taichou? The 6th Division, Rukia, Me, Us, this..._thing_ right now...I don't know, but I've seen that look way too often to know what it means..." Renji was almost cooling down after all the conversation but his eyes widened and his breath hitched when he realised that Byakuya's hand had sneaked into his pyjamas and pulled his length out.

Before he could say anything further though, Byakuya shifted above him and then started rocking against him. The direct pressure and skin contact made both the men moan, though Byakuya's voice was hardly audible. Their Pyjamas were pushed down, Renji had no idea when or how, and the constant rocking and rubbing drove him quickly to the peak.

"I would blame myself for the Kuchiki Clan too, you know...and for your lifestyle...and your pain..." Byakuya gasped, still rocking against Renji, one hand on his chest, half holding him down. Renji's every nerve ending was singing with the heat and pleasure and he wondered briefly how Byakuya was still forming complete sentences. His own face was scrunched up in concentration but he didn't fail to notice the obvious smirk his captain was wearing.

"Wha...ah...What...Tai...chou?" he managed

"Just...ela...borating...on your points...and, Renji, say my name..." Byakuya was losing his composure too and Renji's heart swelled as the stared as the rocking man, lips parted, hair damp and eyes fixed on him. Wanting to tease him a little, Renji pretended to frown

"Why...Taichou?" He couldn't help smirking though, knowing he wasn't fooling anybody. Byakuya pressed closer, dropping his head to kiss Renji's neck. The action pressed his hardness further against Renji's and Renji arched his back, head thrown back.

"Just say it...that's an order...A...Abarai-Fukutaichou..." He nipped at Renji's neck. They were pressing into each other more and Renji was too far gone to think or say anything smart.

"Taichou...I'm..." He puffed out a little air, body and mind on fire, hands grabbing Byakuya's waist to control the pace. "I'm...close..." Byakuya hummed something into Renji's neck and bit down as he stifled a moan. They were wrapped around each other and the world rocked with them till Renji felt the pleasure hit the peak. He buried his face into Byakuya's neck as he came hard and fast. Byakuya rocked a few more times before he came and then slowed down to a stop. He straightened, still straddling Renji and for a few seconds neither moved or spoke, just breathing deeply and looking at each other. Renji felt sleep sweep over him almost instantly as he reached out and smoothed Byakuya's hair.

"_**So that's what your bed-head looks like..."**_ Renji thought, taking in the messy, black locks that spilled over Byakuya's face and neck. Then another thought struck him.

"We didn't...don't you want to..." He swallowed, trying to form the right words. They hadn't had sex and he was only mildly disappointed, his body tired and welcoming sleep with all the emotional and physical strain of the hours that had led to where they were now. But he wondered whether Byakuya felt the same way, though the man looked as beat as Renji felt. "Don't you want to...do more, Byakuya?"

Byakuya grinned at Renji's use of his name and Renji was once again struck by how things had changed between them. Byakuya leaned down and Renji kissed him, slowly this time. He sighed as Byakuya's tongue swept across his lips, basking in the afterglow of their orgasm, of the feel of Byakuya's soft lips which tasted sweeter than before.

"And...you're all dirty, Taichou..." Renji continued between slow, sleepy kisses.

"Hmm...Go to sleep, Renji."

Renji didn't need any further encouragement than that. A thousand different thoughts chased around in his head as his eyes slid shut. Would Byakuya stay with him? Would anybody find out? What would happen if they did? When would they have sex? Rukia would laugh...she always suspected...

* * *

**(Byakuya's POV)**

Renji needn't have worried too much about Byakuya staying though. The moment the red-head fell asleep, Byakuya spent a quick two seconds adjusting their clothes and then rolled over. When Renji automatically moved closer to him, he snuggled and relaxed, feeling the deep, slow breathing of his vice-captain. He yawned as worry started to crease his brow. There would be a furore when people found out. Byakuya looked sideways. Renji's head was on his shoulder, face smooth, clear and peaceful.

"_**Whatever happens, I'll never break your heart again, Renji."**_ Byakuya vowed silently, smiling at the feeling of relief and pure joy that giving in to his heart brought him. Something was nagging at him, but he couldn't remember. Within moments, he was fast asleep too.

* * *

**(THE NEXT MORNING)**

**(Renji's POV) **

It still must have been early in the morning, the Room was flooded in yellow light and the air was cool and clear.

Renji woke up feeling warm and light-headed and it took him a few seconds to recognise his surroundings. He also felt the warmth of another body against his and the light touch of fingertips on his chest. Renji looked up, lifting his head and upper body off the futon a little to witness Byakuya, lost in his own world, idly tracing over Renji's tattoos with his fingers.

"We can get you tattooed too, you know..." he croaked.

He was incredibly happy to see Byakuya was still around and he grinned when the raven-haired noble nearly jumped at the sound of Renji's voice. Byakuya withdrew his fingers at once and Renji's eyes nearly popped when the pale man blushed to the roots of his hair. Stubbornly avoiding Renji's eyes and scowling at having been caught, Byakuya straightened up, his back towards Renji as he gathered up his hair and tied it into a knot. Renji sat up, chuckling.

"Taichou...are you actually blushing...?" He put his arms around the noble and grinned further when he felt familiar irritation radiate through the man's reiatsu. He pressed his nose to the back of Byakuya's neck and placed a tender kiss there. Byakuya relaxed into Renji's embrace immediately, turning his head to look at Renji.

"It is heartening to find you are still as trying as ever, Renji." He said, his tone half-serious. He smiled and then pressed his lips against Renji's. Renji closed his eyes and was just getting comfortable when Byakuya stood up, pulling Renji with him.

"We need to bathe and prepare for duty at the fair."

"Ah...yes..." Renji flushed when he thought of the previous night's activities that demanded that, today especially, they bathe thoroughly. Then he tried to think of where the washroom was. Byakuya was already tying up and straightening his nightshirt.

"Urm...where is the bath...I don't remember which room Sano..."

"There's a bath attached to my room." Byakuya stepped close to Renji and turned his attention to his shirt. "If that is okay with you, then follow me..."

Minutes later, Renji was nervously stepping into a medium-sized, indoor pool-type bath. It was attached to Byakuya's room and was circular in shape. The bath had low, smooth stone seats inside the water and the outside edges were lined with bottles, sponges and scrubbers. Byakuya had coolly told him to get into the water while he got clothes ready. Renji was nervous, though. He didn't know what Byakuya was planning but he still felt very uneasy at the thought of people coming to find out about them. The Kuchiki Household and Help hadn't been anywhere in sight when they had made their way to Byakuya's room but Renji was sure they were all up and about their usual morning activities and chores.

"_**And now I'm in your bath, in your room, naked...Kami, this is too rash"**_

He made a face at himself, knowing that 'rash' was generally right up his lane. The bath water came up to the chest when he rested against the stone seats. He was too lost in thought and once again didn't feel Byakuya's presence till the noble spoke.

"Why are you so tense, Renji?"

Renji whipped around and then slumped back into the water on seeing that it was only Byakuya. He was standing by the pool, pulling off the towel wrapped around his waist. Renji felt his throat go dry as the noble dropped the towel and stepped into the pool in all his bare, naked glory. He had gotten a look at the man last night but not like this. He felt himself go hard immediately. Byakuya reached for a bottle by the side of the bath and a scrubber and moved towards Renji.

"I...eh...I was just..." He watched as Byakuya squeezed some blue liquid onto the scrubber and grabbed Renji's head. Within seconds, all his red hair was covered in soapy bubbles and he squinted against trickling drops, unable to process that Byakuya was bathing him. "I'm just...worried..."

"What about?" Byakuya asked. He moved towards the shallow end of the bath and stood up briefly to reach for a bowl and Renji swallowed as Byakuya's belly button, hipbones and finally his manhood came into sight for a moment. If Byakuya noticed Renji staring, he ignored it and handed the bowl to Renji. He started soaping his own hair.

"About everything. Taichou, don't tell me it's not a big thing...or...or that you won't get into trouble or some shit like that..."

Byakuya glared at Renji but Renji couldn't help grinning. He suddenly found it hilarious that his stern, death-glare was rather off the mark when they were in a bath together, especially after spending the night in each other's arms.

"Have I ever told you how attractive your glare is, Taichou?"

The next instant the scrubber had landed on his face and Renji spat the soap out, coughing.

"It is a working day, we do not have the luxury to spend hours in the bath, engaging in useless banter." Byakuya had moved close to Renji now, taking possession of the scrubber again. He squeezed some more soap over it and pressed it to Renji's neck. "At this pace, it is a miracle you reach office only an hour late every day..."

Renji, however, had no smart comments to throw back at Byakuya. Byakuya seemed to be in a particularly teasing mood and Renji didn't move as Byakuya run the scrubber over his shoulders, arms and chest. When the scrubber brushed against his inner thigh, Renji stiffened. Byakuya continued scrubbing however, covering Renji's legs and then bringing the scrubber up his leg to his thigh again. He slipped his hand between Renji's legs and Renji bit his lip. Byakuya didn't spare Renji and torturously slowly moved the scrubber against Renji's hardness, smiling as he concentrated on Renji. Renji frowned and it was his turn to glare at Byakuya.

When Byakuya didn't stop, Renji curled his fingers around the man's fair neck and pulled him in for a searing kiss. Byakuya kissed back for a few seconds but then moved away.

Renji huffed in frustration, knowing they didn't have time to fool around. He didn't think it was fair.

"_**With you being so unpredictable with your moods, God knows when you'll let me this close again..."**_

Byakuya seemed to read his thoughts again and he smiled as he climbed out of the bath, pulling Renji with him.

"We have to go now, ne Renji..." Byakuya said. It wasn't a question and Renji continued scowling as he was handed a towel from a cupboard.

"_**As if I was the one delaying"**_

* * *

_**a/n: **_**I do not know where to bury my face. That is the first time I'm attempting writing something like that. And the GRAMMAR SUCKS every now and then, as pointed out by faithful reviewers. Sorry about that - i'm in such a hurry to finish it. I've all the chapters written down, but they need serious overhaul in terms of content. So minding proper grammar at the same time is proving difficult.  
(We'll get there, ne?)  
LOVE  
And tell me how you liked it...or didnt?  
(Were they too OOC? Didnt know how much was right for such situations!)  
MOONLITPRIDE**


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